In October, when the Hockey India League (HIL) player auctions were held, eight men’s and four women’s franchises snapped up 96 international stars. Now, with a fortnight left for the competition to begin, more than one-fourth of them have pulled out.
The reasons? The timing of the league, which begins on December 28 — days after Christmas and just before the New Year; an unattractive salary, which is less than many Indian players; and, as at least two players pointed out, the prospect of spending more than a month in Rourkela where there aren’t many options to unwind after matches.
The Indian Express has learnt that 21 men’s players, primarily from the Netherlands and Germany, have pulled out so far. Additionally, eight women players have withdrawn as well. These include Dutch Olympic champion Xan de Waard, Germany’s Nike Lorenz and Britain’s Anna Toman, among others.
All these players pulled out of the HIL after the auctions took place, leaving Hockey India red-faced. The national governing body is likely to bar all the players — apart from those with legitimate fitness concerns and have provided a medical certificate — from playing in the league for three years until the next player auction takes place.
The spate of withdrawals, however, left the franchises scrambling.
In most cases, the teams found other international players willing to replace those who have withdrawn. It may soften the blow but top stars pulling out from the tournament will take away some sheen when it gets underway in Rourkela (men) and Ranchi (women) later this month.
‘Salary not lucrative’
The no-show by some of world hockey’s biggest names is a sharp reversal from the earlier renditions of the HIL when the league was scheduled and marketed around the top foreign players who were also paid handsomely.
This time around, the tables have turned. With a strict salary cap of Rs 4 crore for the men and Rs 2 crore for women, the franchises opted to go big with the Indians — drag-flicker Harmanpreet Singh commanded a sum of Rs 78 lakh, for instance. It left them with a limited purse for the international players.
Germany’s Christopher Ruhr, who was the costliest foreigner in the 2016 HIL auctions after being picked for approximately Rs 63 lakh by Ranchi Rays, was bought for Rs 18 lakh this time by Delhi SG Pipers. He cited injury as a reason to withdraw from this season.
Similarly, Netherlands’ Paris Olympics gold medallist Seve van Ass fetched nearly Rs 33 lakh the last time when he was picked by the Uttar Pradesh Wizards. This time, he was snapped up by the new team from UP, Rudras which is coached by his father Paul van Ass — the former India coach — for Rs 10 lakh.
Seve Van Ass told The Indian Express that the league ‘will definitely help’ Indian hockey ‘as the last edition really helped young talents to get used to the international level’. However, he added the wages were not as lucrative as before. “I think the money is mostly going to Indian players, which is a difference compared to the previous editions. For some top players still a lot of money has been handed out,” he told this paper. “However, it does not make it as lucrative as before and I wonder if top players are willing to risk their international career, or at least miss international matches, for the current salary purse.”
‘Times have changed’
Hockey India secretary general Bhola Nath Singh said the trend reflects the changing times in Indian — and world — hockey. “It is important to understand that when the HIL took place in 2013, the situation has changed a lot. Back then, the franchises spent a lot of money because the foreign players were good and Indian hockey was a bit down. So the franchises put their money on foreign players so that their team would be strong. But now the times have changed,” he said.
Singh added: “After back-to-back Olympic medals, the franchises have chosen to spend more money on Indian players compared to the foreigners. The foreign players may feel they have not got as much money compared to before, but this is a big change. But this change will benefit Indian players.”
Apart from Ruhr and Van Ass, other big names to pull out include Paris Olympics gold medallists Pirmin Blaak and Jonas de Geus of the Netherlands, Ruhr’s Germany teammate Jean Paul Danneberg, Australia’s Flynn Ogilvie and Belgium’s Tom Boon.
Timing matters
The salary, another player said requesting anonymity, did not make it worthwhile to ‘leave behind family during the holiday season’ and then ‘spend more than a month in Rourkela.’
A team official added: “We gather that Hockey India did not communicate the tournament dates clearly. The international players say they were told that the HIL would take place in January. Later, they were told to arrive around Christmas as the first match is on December 28. They were not willing to sacrifice the end of the year holidays.”
Van Ass said the decision to shift the dates was a ‘big reason’ for him to pull out. “I was surprised they shifted dates so that we had to be present on 20th of December, instead of the beginning of January. For me, this was a big reason to pull out as I already had things planned until the end of the year,” he said.
Singh, however, said the dates were decided based on consultations with the international federation, which sanctioned the window since there were no other competitions during these months.
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