India’s captain Harmanpreet Singh (C) celebrates a goal with others during the Hockey Men’s Quarterfinal match between India and Great Britain at the 2024 Summer Olympics, at Yves-du-Manoir Stadium, in Colombes, France. (PTI)
After the Harmanpreet Singh-led squad of Paris Olympics bronze medallists dominated proceedings on day 1, the theme on day 2 of the Hockey India League auction for the men’s teams was franchises looking for value overseas additions, and young Indians with a high ceiling.
As expected, no one got close to the Rs 70 lakh mark that three Indians breached on Day 1 (Harmanpreet, Abhishek and Hardik Singh) but there were still quite a few noteworthy recruits as the eight men’s franchises for HIL 2024-’25 completed their squads.
Purely in terms of value, Moriangthem Rabichandra (Rs 32 lakh to Kalinga Lancers) was the only Indian in the top 10 for the day. But three other Indians managed to get in an impressive Rs 26 lakh bid with Maninder Singh going to Soorma Hockey Club, Angad Bir Singh going to Kalinga Lancers and Mohd. Raheel Mouseen moving to Tamil Nadu Dragons.
With a hefty purse at the start of the day, Kalinga Landers made some shrewd overseas purchases, picking up Olympic gold medal winning captain of Netherlands Thierry Brinkman for a steal at Rs 38 lakh and also Belgium legend Arthur Van Doren for Rs 32 lakh. And then they added the brilliant Belgian drag flicker Alexander Hendrickx for just Rs 23 lakh, as the shrinking purses of various franchises saw overseas superstars go for evidently lower than one would expect.
However, Belgium’s Victor Wegnez was the most expensive recruit on day 2, fetching Rs 40 lakh from Soorma Hockey Club.
Young players with a base price of 2 lakh also made merry at the auction, Rajinder to Hyderabad Toofans for 23 lakh, the same price that India forward Uttam Singh got for his move to Tamil Nadu dragons.
Interestingly, no overseas player across the 8 teams was from an Asian nation.
Overall, Harmanpreet Singh was, as expected, the most expensive buy at the men’s HIL Player Auction at Rs 78 lakh. Abhishek became the second-most expensive buy, acquired by Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers for Rs 72 lakh, while India vice-captain Hardik Singh went to UP Rudras for 70 lakh.
Among the overseas players, former Argentina star and Germany’s current World Cup winning squad member Gonzalo Peillat was the most sought after, finishing with a bid of Rs 68 lakh from Hyderabad Toofans.
It would be worth keeping an eye on Tamil Nadu Dragons as an attacking force too, as they first brought in Netherlands’ Jip Janssen for Rs 54 lakh on the first day, then added the firepower of Aussie star Blake Govers for a cut-price value of Rs 27 lakh.
At the end of the men’s auctions, here’s how all the 8 squads have shaped up:
| Player | Team | Price (in Lakh) |
| Shamsher Singh | Delhi SG Pipers | 42.00 |
| Rajkumar Pal | Delhi SG Pipers | 40.00 |
| Rohit | Delhi SG Pipers | 40.00 |
| Jarmanpreet Singh | Delhi SG Pipers | 38.00 |
| Tomas Domene | Delhi SG Pipers | 36.00 |
| Varun Kumar | Delhi SG Pipers | 34.00 |
| Ankit Pal | Delhi SG Pipers | 20.00 |
| Aditya Lalage | Delhi SG Pipers | 20.00 |
| Christopher Ruhr | Delhi SG Pipers | 18.00 |
| Pawan | Delhi SG Pipers | 15.00 |
| Ky Willott (AUS) | Delhi SG Pipers | 10.50 |
| Manjeet | Delhi SG Pipers | 10.30 |
| Tomás Santiago (ARG) | Delhi SG Pipers | 10.00 |
| Pau Clapes (ESP) | Delhi SG Pipers | 10.00 |
| Flynn Ogilvie | Delhi SG Pipers | 10.00 |
| Nicolas de Kerpel | Delhi SG Pipers | 10.00 |
| Jorrit Croon | Delhi SG Pipers | 10.00 |
| Joginder Singh | Delhi SG Pipers | 5.20 |
| Dilraj Singh | Delhi SG Pipers | 5.00 |
| Sourabh Anand Kushwaha | Delhi SG Pipers | 5.00 |
| Thokchom Kingson Singh | Delhi SG Pipers | 2.50 |
| Sumit Kumar | Delhi SG Pipers | 2.00 |
| Iktidar Ishrat | Delhi SG Pipers | 2.00 |
| Adarsh G | Delhi SG Pipers | 2.00 |
| Player | Team | Price (in Lakh) |
| Gonzalo Peillat | Hyderabad Toofans | 68.00 |
| Sumit | Hyderabad Toofans | 46.00 |
| Nilakanta Sharma | Hyderabad Toofans | 34.00 |
| Arthur de Sloover | Hyderabad Toofans | 30.00 |
| Timothy Daniel | Hyderabad Toofans | 28.00 |
| Jean-Paul Danneberg | Hyderabad Toofans | 27.00 |
| Zach Wallace | Hyderabad Toofans | 26.00 |
| Rajinder | Hyderabad Toofans | 23.00 |
| Shilanand Lakra | Hyderabad Toofans | 21.00 |
| Talwinder Singh | Hyderabad Toofans | 14.50 |
| Arshdeep Singh | Hyderabad Toofans | 11.50 |
| Terrance Pieters | Hyderabad Toofans | 10.00 |
| Matthew Dawson | Hyderabad Toofans | 10.00 |
| Maico Casella | Hyderabad Toofans | 10.00 |
| Amandeep Lakra | Hyderabad Toofans | 9.00 |
| Devindar Walmiki | Hyderabad Toofans | 8.00 |
| Bikramjit Singh | Hyderabad Toofans | 6.20 |
| Akshay Ravindra Avhad | Hyderabad Toofans | 5.00 |
| Vikas Dahiya | Hyderabad Toofans | 2.00 |
| Rahim Aakib Sayyed | Hyderabad Toofans | 2.00 |
| Sundaram Rajawat | Hyderabad Toofans | 2.00 |
| Darshan Vibhav Gawkar | Hyderabad Toofans | 2.00 |
| Irengbam Rohit | Hyderabad Toofans | 2.00 |
| Mukul Sharma | Hyderabad Toofans | 2.00 |
| Player | Team | Price (in Lakh) |
| Sanjay | Kalinga Lancers | 38.00 |
| Thierry Brinkman | Kalinga Lancers | 38.00 |
| Dilpreet Singh | Kalinga Lancers | 34.00 |
| Krishan B Pathak | Kalinga Lancers | 32.00 |
| Rabichandrra Moriangthem | Kalinga Lancers | 32.00 |
| Arthur van Doren | Kalinga Lancers | 32.00 |
| Aran Zalewski | Kalinga Lancers | 27.00 |
| Angad Bir Singh | Kalinga Lancers | 26.00 |
| Alexander Hendrickx | Kalinga Lancers | 23.00 |
| Boby Singh Dhami | Kalinga Lancers | 20.00 |
| Mandeep Mor | Kalinga Lancers | 19.00 |
| Antoine Kina | Kalinga Lancers | 16.00 |
| Rosan Kujur | Kalinga Lancers | 12.50 |
| Enrique Gonzalez | Kalinga Lancers | 10.00 |
| Gursahibjit Singh | Kalinga Lancers | 6.00 |
| Mukesh Toppo | Kalinga Lancers | 5.00 |
| Nicholas Bandurak | Kalinga Lancers | 5.00 |
| Tobias Reynolds-Cotteril | Kalinga Lancers | 2.00 |
| Sahil Kumar Nayak | Kalinga Lancers | 2.00 |
| Partap Lakra | Kalinga Lancers | 2.00 |
| Sushil Dhanwar | Kalinga Lancers | 2.00 |
| Roshan Minz | Kalinga Lancers | 2.00 |
| Rohit Kullu | Kalinga Lancers | 2.00 |
| Deepak Pradhan | Kalinga Lancers | 2.00 |
| Player | Team | Price (in Lakh) |
| Abhishek | Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers | 72.00 |
| Jugraj Singh | Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers | 48.00 |
| Sukhjeet Singh | Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers | 42.00 |
| Sam Lane | Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers | 27.00 |
| Pirmin Blaak (NED) | Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers | 25.00 |
| Florent van Aubel (BEL) | Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers | 25.00 |
| Gauthier Boccard (BEL) | Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers | 18.00 |
| Lachlan Sharp (AUS) | Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers | 18.00 |
| Jaskaran Singh | Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers | 13.50 |
| Hayden Beltz (AUS) | Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers | 13.00 |
| Rupinder Pal Singh | Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers | 12.50 |
| Affan Yousuf | Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers | 11.50 |
| Tom Grambusch | Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers | 10.00 |
| Sean Findlay | Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers | 10.00 |
| Pradhan Poovanna Chandura | Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers | 8.00 |
| Gursewak Singh | Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers | 6.60 |
| Jasjit Singh Kular | Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers | 6.00 |
| Ali Khan | Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers | 6.00 |
| Pardeep Mor | Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers | 5.00 |
| Pardeep Singh Sandhu | Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers | 3.00 |
| Thounaojam Ingalemba Luwang | Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers | 3.00 |
| Atal Dev Singh Chahal | Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers | 3.00 |
| Atul Deep | Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers | 2.00 |
| Yogesh Malik Singh | Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers | 2.00 |
| Player | Team | Price (in Lakh) |
| Harmanpreet Singh | Soorma Hockey Club | 78.00 |
| Jeremy Hayward | Soorma Hockey Club | 42.00 |
| Vivek Sagar Prasad | Soorma Hockey Club | 40.00 |
| Victor Wegnez | Soorma Hockey Club | 40.00 |
| Maninder Singh | Soorma Hockey Club | 26.00 |
| Dayaan Cassiem | Soorma Hockey Club | 25.00 |
| Vincent Vanasch | Soorma Hockey Club | 23.00 |
| Gurjant Singh | Soorma Hockey Club | 19.00 |
| Sunit Lakra | Soorma Hockey Club | 14.10 |
| Nicolas Della Torre | Soorma Hockey Club | 14.00 |
| Gurinder Singh | Soorma Hockey Club | 11.00 |
| Jonas de Geus | Soorma Hockey Club | 11.00 |
| Sukhvinder Singh | Soorma Hockey Club | 11.00 |
| Mohith HS | Soorma Hockey Club | 10.00 |
| Harjeet Singh | Soorma Hockey Club | 5.80 |
| Nicolas Poncelet | Soorma Hockey Club | 5.00 |
| Boris Burkhardy | Soorma Hockey Club | 5.00 |
| Pawan Rajbhar | Soorma Hockey Club | 5.00 |
| Ankush | Soorma Hockey Club | 5.00 |
| Ashu Maurya | Soorma Hockey Club | 2.00 |
| Pradip Mandal | Soorma Hockey Club | 2.00 |
| Prabhjot Singh | Soorma Hockey Club | 2.00 |
| Jashandeep Singh | Soorma Hockey Club | 2.00 |
| Harish Somappa Mutagar | Soorma Hockey Club | 2.00 |
| Player | Team | Price (in Lakh) |
| Jip Janssen | Tamil Nadu Dragons | 54.00 |
| Amit Rohidas | Tamil Nadu Dragons | 48.00 |
| Duco Telgenkamp | Tamil Nadu Dragons | 36.00 |
| David Harte | Tamil Nadu Dragons | 32.00 |
| Blake Govers | Tamil Nadu Dragons | 27.00 |
| Mohd Raheel Mouseen | Tamil Nadu Dragons | 26.00 |
| Selvam Karthi | Tamil Nadu Dragons | 24.00 |
| Uttam Singh | Tamil Nadu Dragons | 23.00 |
| Tom Craig | Tamil Nadu Dragons | 20.00 |
| Thies Prinz | Tamil Nadu Dragons | 18.00 |
| Nathan Ephraums | Tamil Nadu Dragons | 17.00 |
| Kothajit Singh | Tamil Nadu Dragons | 10.00 |
| Moritz Ludwig | Tamil Nadu Dragons | 10.00 |
| Majji Ganesh | Tamil Nadu Dragons | 7.20 |
| Chandan Yadav | Tamil Nadu Dragons | 6.20 |
| S.Senthamizh Arasu | Tamil Nadu Dragons | 6.00 |
| Anand Y | Tamil Nadu Dragons | 5.00 |
| Anand Lakra | Tamil Nadu Dragons | 5.00 |
| Prince Deep Singh | Tamil Nadu Dragons | 5.00 |
| Shesha Gowda | Tamil Nadu Dragons | 5.00 |
| Pruthvi Gm | Tamil Nadu Dragons | 5.00 |
| Dhilipan M | Tamil Nadu Dragons | 5.00 |
| Arun J | Tamil Nadu Dragons | 3.60 |
| Abharan Sudev | Tamil Nadu Dragons | 2.00 |
| Player | Team | Price (in Lakh) |
| Manpreet Singh | Team Gonasika | 42.00 |
| Araijeet Singh Hundal | Team Gonasika | 42.00 |
| Amir Ali | Team Gonasika | 34.00 |
| Tom Boon | Team Gonasika | 26.00 |
| Mandeep Singh | Team Gonasika | 25.00 |
| Suraj Karkera | Team Gonasika | 22.00 |
| Jeroen Hertzberger | Team Gonasika | 21.00 |
| Vishnukant Singh | Team Gonasika | 20.00 |
| Timothy Howard | Team Gonasika | 20.00 |
| Nilam Sanjeep Xess | Team Gonasika | 17.00 |
| Oliver Payne | Team Gonasika | 15.00 |
| Nikkin Thimmaiah | Team Gonasika | 13.00 |
| SK Uthappa | Team Gonasika | 13.00 |
| Yogember Rawat | Team Gonasika | 11.00 |
| Birendra Lakra | Team Gonasika | 10.00 |
| Lee Moton | Team Gonasika | 10.00 |
| Jack Waller | Team Gonasika | 10.00 |
| SV Sunil | Team Gonasika | 10.00 |
| Anmol Ekka | Team Gonasika | 9.20 |
| Yashdeep Siwach | Team Gonasika | 9.00 |
| Mustapha Cassiem | Team Gonasika | 7.20 |
| Dipsan Tirkey | Team Gonasika | 6.60 |
| Jacob Draper | Team Gonasika | 5.00 |
| Kamalbir Singh | Team Gonasika | 2.00 |
| Player | Team | Price (in Lakh) |
| Manpreet Singh | Team Gonasika | 42.00 |
| Araijeet Singh Hundal | Team Gonasika | 42.00 |
| Amir Ali | Team Gonasika | 34.00 |
| Tom Boon | Team Gonasika | 26.00 |
| Mandeep Singh | Team Gonasika | 25.00 |
| Suraj Karkera | Team Gonasika | 22.00 |
| Jeroen Hertzberger | Team Gonasika | 21.00 |
| Vishnukant Singh | Team Gonasika | 20.00 |
| Timothy Howard | Team Gonasika | 20.00 |
| Nilam Sanjeep Xess | Team Gonasika | 17.00 |
| Oliver Payne | Team Gonasika | 15.00 |
| Nikkin Thimmaiah | Team Gonasika | 13.00 |
| SK Uthappa | Team Gonasika | 13.00 |
| Yogember Rawat | Team Gonasika | 11.00 |
| Birendra Lakra | Team Gonasika | 10.00 |
| Lee Moton | Team Gonasika | 10.00 |
| Jack Waller | Team Gonasika | 10.00 |
| SV Sunil | Team Gonasika | 10.00 |
| Anmol Ekka | Team Gonasika | 9.20 |
| Yashdeep Siwach | Team Gonasika | 9.00 |
| Mustapha Cassiem | Team Gonasika | 7.20 |
| Dipsan Tirkey | Team Gonasika | 6.60 |
| Jacob Draper | Team Gonasika | 5.00 |
| Kamalbir Singh | Team Gonasika | 2.00 |
| Player | Team | Price (in Lakh) |
| Hardik Singh | UP Rudras | 70.00 |
| Lars Balk | UP Rudras | 40.00 |
| Kane Russell | UP Rudras | 30.00 |
| Lalit Kumar Upadhyay | UP Rudras | 28.00 |
| Floris Wortelboer | UP Rudras | 27.00 |
| Akashdeep Singh | UP Rudras | 20.00 |
| Manmeet Singh | UP Rudras | 16.00 |
| Marc Recasens | UP Rudras | 15.00 |
| Gurjot Singh | UP Rudras | 14.50 |
| Surender Kumar | UP Rudras | 14.00 |
| James Mazarelo | UP Rudras | 13.00 |
| Álvaro Iglesias | UP Rudras | 12.50 |
| Sudeep Chirmako | UP Rudras | 12.00 |
| Simranjeet Singh | UP Rudras | 10.00 |
| Tanguy Cosyns | UP Rudras | 10.00 |
| Seve van Ass | UP Rudras | 10.00 |
| Priyobarta Talem | UP Rudras | 9.00 |
| Sharda Nand Tiwari | UP Rudras | 7.50 |
| Prashant Barla | UP Rudras | 7.50 |
| Jobanpreet Singh | UP Rudras | 7.50 |
| Pankaj Kumar Rajak | UP Rudras | 6.50 |
| Prashant Kumar Chauhan | UP Rudras | 5.00 |
| Mohd Zaid Khan | UP Rudras | 2.90 |
| Sunil Jojo | UP Rudras | 2.00 |
