Hockey India League 2016 – Preview: New rules, new teams take center stage

01/18/2016

The fourth edition of the rechristened Hockey India League promises to be an exciting affair as new rules and new teams taking centre stage with the league starting in Bhubaneshwar on Monday.

Similar to last season, the fourth edition will also see six teams vying for the title in the league that is set to showcase 34 exciting games over a 37-day period from January 18 to February 21. After the end of the three-year contract, players have swapped teams through the auction route to produce six new look teams for the season.

To make it even more interesting, the organisers have introduced an innovative rule, whereby one field goal will count as two. Brought in with an aim to reduce teams’ unhealthy dependency on penalty corners and drag-flickers, the new rule is set to throw up more attacking hockey in the league.

Teams

1. Ranchi Rays

The defending champions have kept the core of the team together by retaining captain Ashley Jackson, Barry Middleton, Fergus Kavanagh and Indian players Birendra Lakra, Kothajit Singh and Manpreet Singh. They also added seasoned drag-flicker Sandeep Singh and Indian Internationals Mohammad Amir Khan and Sarvanjit Singh through the auction route.

Ranchi’s success depended on Jackson, an attacking midfielder and drag-flicker, who scored 12 goals in the league with 11 of them from penalty corners. With the change in rules, the 2015 player of the tournament will find it difficult to keep the same run, this time, around. However, the team coached by Harendra Singh looks to be the team to beat this season after keeping hold of most of the stars from their title triumph last season.

2. Punjab Warriors

After finishing runners-up last season, Punjab retained their Australian trio of Christopher Ciriello, Mark Knowles and Jacob Whetton along with Indian players SV Sunil, Satbir Singh and Varun Kumar. They have also beefed up their squad in the auction by roping in Indian hockey team captain Sardar Singh and German goalkeeper Nicolas Jacobi. Coached by Australian Barry Dancer, the side will bank on their young players to take them to the title.

3. Delhi Waveriders

The side from Delhi finished third last season and pulled a surprise move before the auction by releasing their talismanic captain Sardar Singh and retained Yuvraj Walmiki, Simon Child, Steven Edwards, Tristan White, Talwinder Singh, and Surender Kumar before the auction. The side coached by Cedric D' Souza also brought in Indian Defender Rupinder Pal Singh and the South African duo of Austin Smith and Justin Reid-Ross to add to the young team. Delhi will also have a new home, this time around, with Shivaji stadium hosting the matches instead of Major Dhyan Chand Hockey Stadium, which played host in the last three editions.

4. Uttar Pradesh Wizards

UP Wizards, who made it to the semi-final last season, boast of star players in the form of Indian drag-flicker V.R. Raghunath, who will captain the side, Indian goalkeeper P.R. Sreejesh, Ramandeep Singh, Australian midfielder Eddie Ockenden and Dutchman Jolie Wouter. The team from Lucknow also added young Indian striker Akashdeep Singh, who was the costliest Indian player in the Indian auction. The team, this time around, will be coached by Dutchman Roger van Gent after Indian coach Roelant Oltmans opted out of the coaching responsibilities to avoid conflict of interest issues.

5. Kalinga Lancers

After finishing outside the semi-final spot in the last edition, Kalinga Lancers appointed former Australian hockey player Mark Hager as the new chief coach. The team added Germany's Moritz Fuerste for the highest bid in the auction along with Indian youngsters Dharamvir Singh, Pardeep Mor, S K Uthappa, Devindar Walmiki, Gurjinder Singh and Lalit Upadhyay for the new season.

6. Dabang Mumbai

At the end of a terrible performance last year, which saw them finishing at the bottom of the league, the Mumbai side went for a massive overhaul releasing star striker Tom Boon from Belgium and retaining just three players in Indian junior team penalty corner specialist Harmanpreet Singh, Irish goalkeeper David Harte and Australian defender Jeremy Hayward. The team coached by former Australian hockey star Jay Stacy could prove to be the giant killers in the league after assembling a squad full of talented Indian and International players.

In the first match of the league on Monday, Kalinga Lancers will take on Uttar Pradesh Wizards at the Kalinga Stadium in Bhubaneshwar.

Match timings: 6 pm IST

TV listings: Star Sports 2 and HD2 (English), Star Sports 3 and HD3 (Hindi)