Tribune: Fuerste, Akashdeep get highest bids

Tribune News Service

German playmaker Moritz Fuerste was the costliest player at the Hockey India League (HIL) auction held here today, while Indian striker Akashdeep Singh emerged as the costliest homegrown player. Fuerste was bought by Kalinga Lancers for $1,05,000, and Akashdeep was purchased by Uttar Pradesh Wizards for $84,000.

Surprisingly, Indian captain and playmaker Sardar Singh could attract a maximum bid of only $58,000, made by Punjab Warriors. Sardar was paid $78,000 by Delhi Waveriders in the inaugural edition of HIL in 2013, but he was released by his team earlier this year.

The bidding for Fuerste, a two-time Olympic champion with Germany, started from a base price of $30,000. Initially, Delhi Waveriders and Uttar Pradesh Wizards led the race in bidding to secure him, and Lancers entered the fray much later, when the bid had already gone over $90,000. Lancers went up to $1,05,000 and sealed the deal at that figure as the other teams refused to go higher. At the inaugural HIL, Fuerste was bought by Ranchi for $75,000 and named their captain. Two other Germans, Florian Fuchs and Tobias Hauke, fetched the second-highest price, $96,000 each. Fuchs was bought by Dabang Mumbai and Hauke was picked up by UP Wizards. Fuchs, 23, is the international Young Player of the Year and is considered among the world’s best young strikers. When his name came up at the auction, Kalinga Lancers, UP Wizards and Dabang Mumbai went for him in right earnest and his price quickly escalated. Then Kalinga withdrew, leaving UP and Mumbai in the race, and the latter eventually came up with a figure that wasn’t surpassed. Sardar Singh was the third Indian player to come up for bidding in the 272-player auction. His base price was set at $20,000 but surprisingly, bidding for the Indian captain did not really pick up and ended at a figure that was $20,000 lower than his fee at the inaugural edition of HIL.

The new rules of HIL stipulate that a field goal would count as two goals; this meant that top strikers and defenders would be in the greatest demand. Still, it seemed natural that an excellent playmaker like Sardar would be much sought-after. Surprisingly, younger Indian team players like Nikkin Thimmaiah, Gurvinder Singh, Dharamvir Singh and Rupinder Pal Singh were sold for higher sums than Sardar.

Veteran dragflicker Sandeep Singh and Gurmail Singh attracted the second-highest bids among Indian players. Sandeep and Gurmail were purchased for $81,000 each, by Ranchi and Mumbai, respectively. Striker Gurwinder Singh Chandi attracted the third-best bid among the Indian players, picked up for $75,000 by Punjab, against his base price of $20,000. Mandeep Singh was bought for $70,000 by Delhi.