Goalkeeper David Harte moved a step closer to becoming the first Irish player to take part in the lucrative Hockey India League this week when he was included in a list of 59 players signed up for the Mini Players Auction/Closed Bid.
In a similar manner to cricket’s Indian Premier League, six franchises will bid for players to take part in the event that runs from January to February in 2014 with those purchased to receive a large percentage of their sale price.
The auction is scheduled for November 18th in Delhi with the Irish number one on a shortlist of 18 goalkeepers – eight “overseas” and 10 from India – vying to be bought.
It is a high quality list with the top netminders from Australia, South Africa, England and New Zealand also on the shortlist while the outfield list has 27 Olympians in its midst.
The Hockey India League was introduced in 2013 after a couple of false starts and enjoyed a superb first year with over 30 million people viewing the final between the Ranchi Rhinos and the Delhi Waveriders. Because of those numbers, it has allowed the competition to expand to have a sixth franchise while the salary cap for the month-long event has been raised to €75,000.
This potential earning figure has attracted some top stars including England's Barry Middleton and former Irish international Mark Gleghorne.
Fixtures: Men's Leinster Division One (Saturday): Pembroke vs Railway Union, 2.15pm, Serpentine Avenue; Three Rock Rovers vs YMCA, 3pm, Grange Road; Corinthian vs Fingal, 12.30pm, Whitechurch Park; Rathgar vs UCD, 1pm, High School.
