The Hockey India League has picked up momentum after the conclusion of the men's HIL auction, which lasted two days, with more than 650 players going under the hammer and eventually 192 of them getting sold to the eight teams.
A few of the teams got the balance right, at least on paper, while others must plan their on-field strategies to suit their players. We look at each team, with a specific focus on who their best player is, what their biggest strength is, and what their major worries might be. Oh, plus we take a shot at predicting how their season might go:
Tamil Nadu Dragons
Best player: Jip Janssen. The dragflick expert from the Netherlands is in a rich vein of form, having helped the national team to a gold at the Paris Olympics.
Strength: Just look at that set of attackers: Australian trio of Blake Govers, Tom Craig and Nathan Ephraums... and then add the Netherlands' Duco Telgenkamp to it. It's scintillating.
Weakness: The midfield core seems a bit weak.
W2W4: How can India's young attackers like Selvam Karthi and Uttam Singh make their mark in a team brimming with world class forwards?
Prediction: Should make top 4.
UP Rudras
Best player: The one and only Hardik Singh. The Indian midfield maestro and one of world's best midfielders.
Strength: There's Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Surender Kumar, Akashdeep Singh and Simranjeet Singh who have plenty of experience playing the big matches for India.
Weakness: Only one notable dragflicker in New Zealand's Kane Russell.
W2W4: Surender Kumar, Akashdeep and Simranjeet no longer play for the national team but haven't retired also. They would look to get back into national setup.
Prediction: Tough to make it to top 4.
Delhi SG Pipers
Best player: Germany's Christopher Ruhr, who brings plenty of experience and plenty of goals. He's also the winner of two Olympic medals -- bronze at Rio 2016 and silver at Paris 2024.
Strength: Probably the best midfield in the league. Australia's Flynn Ogilvie and Ky Willot combining with India's Shamsher Singh and Raj Kumar Pal along with Argentina's Tomas Domene and Netherland's Jorrit Croon. This is as solid as it can get.
Weakness: No game-changing forwards.
W2W4: Number of junior national team players have made the squad thanks to their head coach PR Sreejesh: who is the director of hockey. Their growth is the one to watch out for.
Prediction: Will make it to top 4.
Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers
Best player: Abhishek, who's currently India's best forward.
Strength: They have an excellent forward line comprising Abhishek, Sukhjeet, who lead the line for India along with Belgium's Florent van Aubel and New Zealand's Sam Lane.
Weakness: Defence could be a spot of bother, a lot will depend on Dutch goalkeeper Pirmin Blaak's form.
W2W4: India's legend Rupinder Pal Singh has been retired for quite some time now but he's back to play big matches at the HIL.
Prediction: Will struggle to make it to top 4.
Kalinga Lancers
Best player: Belgium' Alexander Hendrickx, a world class dragflicker.
Strength: The mainstay of Belgium defence -- Hendrickx and Arthur van Doren -- are part of this team. What makes them so good is apart from being solid defenders, they can play the role of playmakers from back.
Weakness: There are a couple of India regulars like Krishan Pathak and Sanjay, but their Indian core is not the strongest.
W2W4: Considering Hendrickx is their big strength, it's important to give him as many opportunities to score. Basically, create more penalty corner chances to increase their chances of victories.
Prediction: Will miss out on top 4.
Hyderabad Toofans
Best player(s): Gonzalo Peillat, of course. But equally important is Zach Wallace.
Strength: Apart from Peillat and Wallace, they have the Netherland's Terrance Pieters, Australia's Timothy Daniel and Matthew Dawson, Argentina's Maico Casella and Belgium's Arthur De Sloover. In terms of work rate and relentlessness, these names are a great addition.
Weakness: Probably the weakest Indian core.
W2W4: They have spent a good amount of money on youngsters like Arshdeep Singh (11.5 lakh), Bikramjit Singh (6.2 lakh), Talwinder Singh (14.5 lakh) and Rajinder (23 lakh). Their performances will be key.
Prediction: Last.
Team Gonasika
Best player: Tom Boon -- Belgium's legendary forward and dragflick expert
Strength: Mandeep Singh, Manpreet Singh, Amir Ali, Suraj Karkera, and Vishnukant Singh makes a solid Indian core. Both in terms of experience and upcoming talent.
Weakness: Dragflicking could be an issue, because there's no one really to support Boon.
W2W4: Nikkin Thimmaiah, SK Uthappa, SV Sunil - all three players from Karnataka played for India. It will be interesting to see them again playing together for the same team.
Prediction: Might not make top 4
Soorma HC
Best player: India's best right now -- Harmanpreet Singh.
Strength: In Harmanpreet and Australia's Jeremy Hayward, they have the two deadliest dragflickers in the world playing for one team.
Weakness: They perhaps lack an x-factor in attack.
W2W4: Considering the double battery at their service, it will be interesting to see the dynamic between Harmanpreet and Hayward during penalty corner chances.
Prediction: Will make it to top 4.
WOMEN'S HOCKEY INDIA LEAGUE
Delhi SG Pipers
Best player: Delhi have spent big on 17-year-old Sunelita Toppo (24 lakh). She's definitely the future of the Indian women's team but based on experience and form, it has to be forward Sangita Kumari.
Strength: Toppo, Sangita, Navneet Kaur and Deepika - that's solid core of Indian forwards.
Weakness: Since a few foreign players were picked up at base price, uncertainty looms if they will eventually turn up for the league.
W2W4: The Indian women's team's assistant coach Dave Smolenaars will be the head coach of the team. It will be interesting to see how he could extract the best out of and develop the Indian players.
Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers
Best player: There are Udita, Vandana Katariya and Lalremsiami but Shrachi will need Ambre Ballenghien's goals. The Belgian striker is one of the best attackers in the world.
Strength: Vandana Katariya, Udita and Lalremsiami -- their national team experience of playing together will come handy.
Weakness: Lack of a big name foreign player.
W2W4: The team has picked as many as four Irish players -- Kathryn Mullan, Elena Neill, Róisín Upton and Sarah Hawkshaw -- instead of going for other big players from stronger hockey nations. Let's see if it will work out for the team.
What an incredible day of action and excitement at the HIL Women's Auction! Teams went all out, securing top talent to elevate their squads. From thrilling bids to last-minute surprises, the auction showcased the best of women's hockey.@TheHockeyIndia
#HILWomensPlayerAuction pic.twitter.com/ju8oyupVvZ- Hockey India League (@HockeyIndiaLeag) October 15, 2024
Odisha Warriors
Best player: Yibbi Jansen, no doubt about it. The dragflick expert scored the most number of goals at the Paris Olympics - 9, helping her team to gold medal.
Strength: Former Indian women's team head coach Janneke Schopman will coach the team. She knows Indian hockey inside out and has the experience of dealing with Indian players.
Weakness: It's a strong squad without much weakness. But the important thing here is the team living up to the expectations.
W2W4: Schopman has picked up players like Annu, Madhuri Kindo, Anjali Barwa, Jyothi and Rutaja, who were part of the junior women's team which won the Asia Cup under her coaching. Schopman clearly thinks this bunch has a bright future.
Soorma HC
Best Player: The captain of the Indian women's hockey team Salima Tete.
Strength: Charlotte Englebert (Belgium), Charlotte Stapenhorst (Germany), Nike Lorenz (Germany) and Maria Verschoor (Netherlands) - that's a very strong line up of foreign players.
Weakness: Again, no glaring weakness but it's important for the team's foreign players to settle into the team as quickly as possible.
W2W4: Savita Punia lost her national team captaincy to her Soorma teammate Salima but she's still India's best keeper. Her form will be crucial to Soorma's progress in the league.