Bengaluru. Hockey India League (HIL) is all set to make a comeback in December this year after a gap of seven years. Indian women’s team captain Salima Tete, who hails from Jharkhand, dreams of playing the women’s league final on her home ground early next year. The midfielder, who was appointed captain after Harendra Singh took charge of the Indian women’s hockey team earlier this year, expressed her happiness for the Hockey India League, saying, “I am very excited for HIL, it is back after seven years. is triggered. The entire team has been talking for the last few days about what a great opportunity this is for us. We will get a chance to mingle with players from different countries, play with them, play against them and improve as players. He further said that this will give the youth who are not part of the senior team an opportunity to closely watch the daily routine of Indian and foreign players. Being exposed to a high-performance professional environment early in their career will do wonders for their development. I hope HIL will also be beneficial for those players who are out of the team.
This will give them the opportunity to compete at the highest level and keep themselves sharp. The league will begin from December 28, with matches to be played at two venues, including Marang Gomke Jaipal Singh Astroturf Hockey Stadium in Ranchi, Jharkhand and Birsa Munda Hockey Stadium in Rourkela, Odisha. The women’s league will conclude on January 26, 2025, in Ranchi, while the men’s final will be held on February 1 in Rourkela. The player auction for HIL 2024-25 will be held from October 13 to 15 in New Delhi. Each franchise will field a squad of 24 players, which will include at least 16 Indian players (compulsorily including 4 junior players) and 8 international stars. The players in the auction will be divided into three slabs with base prices of Rs 2, 5 and 10 lakh. Salima said, “The auction is going to happen soon and there is a lot of discussion about it in the camp. This is the first edition, so I love nothing more than playing for the Ranchi team. It is expected that one of the two remaining women’s teams will be from Ranchi.