Rourkela — Fans had begun to drift out before the second-half of the men’s Hockey India League (HIL) men’s final after Bollywood actress Sara Ali Khan had put on a pre-match show in front of 20,000 at the world’s biggest hockey stadium. But the hope is, following the conclusion to HIL 2.0, that Hockey India can make stars of their own in years to come, with salaries unheard of outside of HIL walls.
Consider this. Indian forward Abhishek Nain, of title-winning side Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers, was second most expensive player in the HIL auction at around $80,000. With $22,000 up for grabs as player of the tournament, coupled with the $345,000 on offer for the winning team (another approx $12,000 in the offing if it were to be split across the playing/coaching staff), he could have become the first player to break the $100,000 barrier for his six weeks of franchise hockey. The same with Gonzalo Peillat of beaten Hyderabad Toofans.
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