India men’s captain Harmanpreet Singh was the most expensive purchase, while Gonzalo Peillat proved the most significant overseas asset, as the hammer went down on the opening day of the Hockey India League player auction on Sunday.
In the first HIL action for seven years, Harmanpreet was picked up by Punjab side Soorma Hockey Club for a whopping Rs 78 lakh (£71,000) to unsurprisingly top the bidding in New Delhi.
German international Peillat was sold to Hyderabad Toofans for Rs 68 lakh (£61,000) as the fourth highest bid of the day.
Abhishek to Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers, Rs 72 lakh and Indian vice-captain Hardik Singh to UP Rudras, Rs 70 lakh were second and third highest purchases of the eight franchises in the men’s auction.
Netherlands’ Olympic champion Jip Janssen will play for the Tamil Nadu Dragons after he was picked up for 54 lakh (£49,000).
Meanwhile, Irish goalkeeper stalwart David Harte received an unexpected high from the overseas goalkeepers on offer when Tamil Nadu outbid rivals for 32 lakh (£29,126).
Fellow stoppers Jean Paul Danneberg went for 27 lakhs and Olympic champion Pirmin Blaak sold for 25 lakhs.
Ollie Payne looked to be going for his base price until a slow going bid saw the 25-year-old team up with Team Gonasika for a bargain value 15 lakhs (approx £13,600).
Other notable outfield purchases saw Duco Telgenkamp bought by the Tamil Nadu Dragons for Rs 36 lakh. For Rs 21 lakh, Jeroen Hertzberger went to Team Gonasika.
Australian players didn’t fare well, with three forwards, Jacob Anderson, Jack Welch and Joel Rintala, failing to attract franchises. Australia No.1 Andrew Charter also went unsold for now. Old Georgians and GB defender Liam Sanford also went unsold.
On a lengthy day one where the bidding process took far too long to complete, only 54 players were signed by franchises, with 192 names still up for grabs.
With each franchise team purse capped at around £364,000, it means that high bids have lowered since the first HIL run from 2013 to 2017.
In the first player auction, Dutch hockey legend Teun de Nooijer was auctioned off for $87,400, Moritz Furste went for a bulging $105,000 in 2014 while then Dutch captain Robert van der Horst was the highest earner in the last HIL edition in 2017, with Jaypee Punjab Warriors paying $43,000.
The men’s auction will conclude on Monday followed by the inaugural women’s auction on Tuesday.
Each franchise squad will be capped at 24 player squad, including 16 Indian players (with four junior players) and eight foreign players.
Top 20 players sold
HIL men’s teams and franchise owners
Chennai – Charles Group, Lucknow – Yadu Sports, Punjab – JSW Sports, West Bengal – Shrachi Sports, Delhi – SG Sports and Entertainment, Odisha – Vedanta Limited, Hyderabad – Resolute Sports, Ranchi – Navoyam Sports Ventures Private Limited
HIL women’s teams
Haryana – JSW Sports, West Bengal – Shrachi Sports, Delhi – SG Sports and Entertainment, Odisha – Navoyam Sports Ventures Private Limited