Soorma Hockey Club Acquire India Captain Harmanpreet Singh for ₹78.1 Lakh at Day 1 of HIL Auction

The return of the Hockey India League has already amped up the excitement among the fans, and the auction has been a massive success as it lived up to the hype. The event's biggest attention was the Indian Hockey skipper Harmanpreet Singh as the franchises were expected to go big on the hockey stalwart to bolster their core side. Harmanpreet attracted amazing bids from various teams as they went on a war, but in the end, a Punjab -based franchise bagged the services of the 'Sarpanch' of Indian Hockey.

Also Read: 'HIL is set to revive Indian hockey's golden era': Former Indian Captain Sardar Singh

Harmanpreet Singh Becomes the Most Expensive Player at HIL Auction After Soorma Hockey Club Rope Him in for Rs 78 Lakhs

On the first day of the Hockey India League auction, Harmanpreet Singh, the captain of India, was purchased by Punjab 's Soorma Hockey Club for Rs 78.1 lakhs, making him the most expensive player. After a heated bidding war, Soorma Hockey Club signed the drag-flick expert. A fierce bidding war was raging for Harmanpreet Singh, with the Hyderabad Toofans, SG Delhi Pipers, and Tamil Nadu Dragons going all in for the Indian Hockey star. Though they all battled to get Harmanpreet, he ultimately signed with his home-state team.

After Harmanpreet, Abhishek became the second-most expensive acquisition, with Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers paying Rs 72 lakh for his services. Hardik Singh was roped in by the UP Rudras for Rs 70 lakh. Other notable purchases from the first lot included Amit Rohidas, who went to Tamil Nadu Dragons for Rs 48 lakh, and Jugraj Singh, who was bought for the same amount by Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers.

Also Read: Hockey India League: Harmanpreet Singh & over 1000 names to go under the hammer at auction

The first day saw a lot of bidding wars among franchises and the core players of the Hockey India team were a part of the bidding wars. Harmanpreet Singh heading to the Soorma Hockey Club is a significant move, as he was expected to join the SG Delhi Pipers since PR Sreejesh serves as the team's Director of Hockey. But in the end, he ended up in Punjab .

Full list of players sold in the first half of Day 1

1. Gurjant Singh - Soorma Hockey Club - Rs 19 lakh

2. Mandeep Singh - Team Gonasika - Rs 25 lakh

3. Manpreet Singh - Team Gonasika - Rs 42 lakh

4. Sukhjeet Singh - Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers - Rs 42 lakh

5. Amit Rohidas - Tamil Nadu Dragons - Rs 48 lakh

6. Nilakanta Sharma- Hyderabad Toofans - Rs 34 lakh

7. Sanjay - Kalinga Lancers - Rs 38 lakh

8. Lalit Kumar Upadhyay - UP Rudras - Rs 28 lakh

9. Vivek Sagar Prasad - Soorma Hockey Club - Rs 40 lakh

10. Hardik Singh - UP Rudras - Rs 70 lakh

11. Harmanpreet Singh - Soorma Hockey Club - Rs 78 lakh

12. Sumit - Hyderabad Toofans - Rs 46 lakh

13. Abhishek - Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers - Rs 72 lakh 14. Jugraj Singh - Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers - Rs 48 lakh

15. Krishan B Pathak - Kalinga Lancers - Rs 32 lakh

16. Shamsher Singh - Delhi SG Pipers - Rs 42 lakh

17. Jarmanpreet Singh - Delhi SG Pipers - Rs 40 lakh

18. Rajkumar Pal - Delhi SG Pipers - Rs 40 lakh

19. David Harte (IRL) - Tamil Nadu Dragons - Rs 32 lakh

20. Jean-Paul Danneberg (GER) - Hyderabad Toofans - Rs 27 lakh

21. Oliver Payne (GBR) - Team Gonasika - Rs 15 lakh

22. Pirmin Blaak (NED) - Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers - Rs 25 lakh

23. Tomás Santiago (ARG) - Delhi SG Pipers - Rs 10 lakh

24. Vincent Vanasch (BEL) - Soorma Hockey Club - Rs 23 lakh

25. Suraj Karkera - Team Gonasika - Rs 22 lakh

26. Pawan - Delhi SG Pipers - Rs 15 lakh.