With the franchises announced and teams drafted, the ambitious World Series Hockey (WSH) looks all set to kick off but for one major hurdle — the players themselves.
Nimbus and Indian Hockey Federation (IHF), on Monday, announced the core group of players that will represent a particular team, but the jury is out on whether the players will actually be available for the eight-city tournament. The organisers dismissed any such concerns and are confident that the players who have signed up for the tournament will definitely play in it.
“We have reached an agreement with the players and they have confirmed their participation. As a part of the agreement, we have also paid them an advance amount. There is no reason why they won’t play,” Nimbus COO Yannick Colaco said.
Hockey India, who have branded the tournament as unsanctioned, have warned that the players participating in WSH will not be considered for the national selection. The inaugural edition of the tournament is scheduled to begin on December 17. There is a question mark over Pakistani players as well, who have been ordered by their federation against taking part in the tournament.
Meanwhile, the player draft —wherein the players were chosen by/allocated to the participating teams — was conducted on Monday. The Mumbai franchisee, captained by Adrian D’Souza, will have the likes of SV Sunil, Yuvraj Walmiki, Viren Rasquinha and Spanish star Pedro Ibarra, among others. Dhanraj Pillay will play for Karnataka, which also consists of drag-flicker Sandeep Singh, Arjun Halappa and Pakistani star Zeeshan Ashraf. Wizcraft has brought the Delhi franchise.
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