PR Sreejesh on UP Rudras pulling out of HIL: ‘Hockey India must take a call because you can’t miss India vice-captain Hardik playing in league’

With no clarity at the time of writing on whether the UP Rudras players will enter the auction or the franchise will be absorbed by some other owner, Sreejesh said there cannot be a scenario where a player of Hardik’s stature isn’t part of the league.

“Hockey India will take a call on that because you can’t leave out the Indian vice-captain from the league. They would have a Plan B for that. We haven’t officially heard anything, but I am sure that situation won’t arise,” the two-time Olympic bronze medallist said.

However, Sreejesh admitted that the withdrawal of a team over financial sustainability concerns is an issue Hockey India must address.

“Corporates are investing money, so (teams pulling out) leaves a question mark. We are not here to do big business, we are here to promote the sport. So, when something like this happens, definitely that’s a worry for the franchisees. Hockey India needs to make sure that whenever the tournament starts, teams are available,” he said.
There have also been concerns over the availability of top foreign players for the second edition of the HIL, but SG Pipers’ Vice President of Sport and Media, Digvijay Singh Deo, said there won’t be a dip in the quality of hockey.

“There have been obvious issues with the availability of players. Most of the teams have retained the best ones, and we knew that with the Netherlands hosting the World Cup, that’s a bit of an issue. But all the Belgian men’s players are coming. England, Argentina and Australia are coming. If you look at the quality of the men’s tournament, it’s going to be top-class,” he said.

It is learnt that Hockey India has negotiated for the top teams to play bilateral series with India in the lead-up to the World Cup, to make sure the top players are available for the upcoming season.

“For women, yes, obviously a few Dutch players are not coming, but you have the Argentine squad, the world No.2 side. It’s going to help the Indian women as well,” Digvijay added.

Delhi were one of the teams severely hit by late post-auction player withdrawals before the last season, when the league returned after a seven-year hiatus. Sreejesh said it was a big lesson learned, as Delhi finished last in both the men’s and women’s tournaments.

“The first thing we learned is to ensure that our players are coming once the auction is done,” he said. “Stay in contact with them and make sure that at the last moment, there are no changes. We missed six of our men’s players and even one or two players in the women’s team as well. That spoiled all our calculations. But this time, we are more aware.”