Seven teams for World Series Hockey 2

Satya Rath

MUMBAI: Eight teams competed in the inaugural edition of the World Series Hockey. The second season of the Indian Hockey Federation-Nimbus Sport joint venture – scheduled to start on December 15 – will, however, have a team less.

No, the global showdown has nothing to do with it. Or that’s what the organisers claim. It has more to do with logic. “When WSH was conceptualised, Punjab, for its glorious hockey heritage, was a big territory for us. So we thought of having two franchises from there. But the feedback we received after the inaugural season were mixed. We have, therefore, decided not to have divided loyalties. We shall have one team from Punjab this time,” Sunil Manocha, president, Nimbus Sport, told TOI.

That means Chandigarh Comets and Sher-e-Punjab will be united into one Punjab team. “We plan to hold matches across multiple venues in Punjab this time, instead of just Chandigarh and Jalandhar. This will ensure undivided support for the team. It’s yet to be decided where the team will be based. We will talk with the stake-holders and take a call,” added Manocha.

But one team less means it’s bad news for the players. At least some of them are sure to miss the cut. “We shall have a fresh player draft for the second season. The modalities are still being finalised, but yes, some players will miss out on making it to the final draft. But we shall honour their contracts with WSH, which was for three years. They will be paid for all three seasons,” Manocha said.

As for the matches proper, WSH-II will open with a double header on December 15, with the final slated for January 20. The tournament will have 45 matches played over five weeks, as opposed to 59 matches over the same period in the first edition. There will be one match a day on weekdays and two matches a day on the weekends. The weekday match will start at 8 pm, while the weekend matches will be played at 6 pm and 8 pm respectively.