After years of waiting, the Hockey India League is restarting again on December 28. The men's league will begin first and later the four women's teams will be in action. A few of the world's best players will be missing the season, despite getting picked in the auction, but there's plenty of quality among the teams, including the best from India.
Ahead of the opening match between Team Gonasika and Delhi SG Pipers, here's all you need to know about the league:
Dates for men's and women's HIL
The men's league will begin on December 28 and the final is scheduled on February 1.
The women's league will start on January 12 and the final is on January 26.
Teams
Eight teams will compete in the men's league: Delhi SG Pipers, Hyderabad Toofans, Vedanta Kalinga Landers, Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers, Soorma Hockey Club (Punjab), Tamil Nadu Dragons, Team Gonasika Vizag and UP Yudras.
Hockey India League (men's), meet the teams: Best player, coach, full squad, predictions
The four women's teams are: Delhi SG Pipers, Odisha Warriors, Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers and Soorma Hockey Club (Haryana).
Locations
The women's matches (except for two) and the final will take place in Ranchi. The men's matches (except for four) and the final will take place in Rourkela.
Why's there no home and away?
Well, to keep costs low and avoid logistics issues, Hockey India took the decision to restrict the league to just two locations. However, the good news is that all the franchises are keen to switch to home and format soon. Hopefully, by next year.
Why did the previous avatar of the HIL stop?
The previous avatar ran for five years, from 2013 to 2017. However, high costs and a packed international calendar proved to be major issues. While franchises struggled to make money, lack of a proper window for the tournament also played a role with the introduction of the FIH Pro League.
Now, there's a dedicated window for the league and the owners insist they are in for a long haul.
Hockey India League returns, franchises brace for 'exciting challenge', 'long haul'
What's the format?
In phase one of the men's league, each team will play the other once.
After seven matches for each team, phase two will begin where each team will play their opponents from the same pool. For phase two, pool A has Delhi SG Pipers, Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers, Soorma Hockey Club and Vedanta Kalinga Lancers. Pool B has Team Gonasika, Hyderabad Toofans, Tamil Nadu Dragons and UP Rudras.
After phase one and two, the top four teams, in terms of points, will make it to the semifinals.
For the women's league, it's simpler. Four teams will play each other twice and the top two will make it to the final.
Who are players (in men's league) to watch out for?
All the best Indian players, including Harmanpreet Singh, Abhishek, Hardik Singh, Manpreet Singh will feature but it will be interesting to see the youngsters rising up to the challenge and attempting to seize the spotlight. The likes of Ankit Pal, Rohit, Arshdeep Singh, Manmeet Singh and Thounaojam Ingalemba Luwang are part of the junior team setup and went for good money at the auction. It will also be interesting to see the performance of players on the other end of the experience scale, with the likes of Rupinder Pal Singh (Shrachi) and SV Sunil (Team Gonasika) key figures for their respective teams.
Who are key foreign players to watch out for?
There are quite a few big names despite the multiple withdrawals. Germany's Gonzalo Peillat (Hyderabad Toofans), England's Zach Wallace (Hyderabad Toofans), Belgium's Alexander Hendrickx (Kalinga Lancers), Netherlands' Jip Janssen (Tamil Nadu Dragons) Oliver Payne (Team Gonasika) and Australia's Jeremy Hayward (Soorma) and Blake Govers (Tamil Nadu Dragons) are definitely names to keep an eye on.
Broadcast details
The tournament will be shown on DD Sports and Sony Sports Network. The matches can also be streamed LIVE on OTT app Waves.