Auction does not always go according to plans: Team Owners at PHL Auction

The inaugural Premier Handball League (PHL) player auctions concluded on Sunday with all six teams packing themselves up with some solid buys.

We take a look at the squads of each team and try to pick the brains of the team officials as to what went behind in building their respective teams.

Team: Delhi Panzers

Goalkeepers: Elmuratov Sardor, Nittin Kumar Sharma, Rakesh Ahlawat

Center Backs: Deepak Ghanghas, Mithun Sharma

Right Backs: Artem Martynov, Jasmeet Singh, Deepak Ahlawat

Left Backs: Emil Minnulin, Ashok Nain, Dinesh Kumar

Right Wings: Bhupender Ghanghas, Arun Sharma

Left Wings: Nandkishor Bhardwaj, Subir Roy

Pivots: Deepak, Minut Sardar

"Auction is something that does not always go according to plans. Everybody wants the best players. The only differentiator here was the foreign players, who came as unknown commodities. Our strategy was concentrated on foreign players. We were aggressive in getting the best combination of the foreign players," Vineet Bhandari, owner of Delhi Panzers told The Bridge.

“Experience and age matter in certain positions. Our main interest was in players who were actively playing for the past two years and have had game time in their kitty. We targeted the players from the age group of 18-25. Given handball is the fastest summer Olympics sport, we wanted players who are fast and agile," he added further.

Team: Garvit Gujarat

Goalkeeper: Farhad Shafiei Alavijeh, Dinesh, Mandeep Lochab

Center Back: Sachin Singh, Tarun Thakur

Right Back: Tuliboev Mukhtor, Harender Singh Nain, Surender Kumar

Left Back: Atswamamethee Barameechuay, Sivaprasad Nair, Karamjeet Singh

Right Wing: Naveen Panghal, Amit Ghangas

Left Wing: Mohammed Shuja Ur Rehman, Aman Khiche

Pivot: Avin Khatkar, Ravinder Pal Singh

Owned by former India handball international Roop Kumar Naidu, Garvit Gujarat has brought in some big names like Harender Singh Nain and Shuja Ur Rehman.

Talking about his team, Roop said, “We have got the team of our choice. Overall, we had an excellent auction and we have assembled a great squad. I am satisfied with the team.”

“The auction was successful and the youngsters were picked very well. Being a first-time league, this is phenomenal," he added further.

Having played at the highest level, Roop Kumar Naidu knows what it takes to succeed at this level.

“Being a former international, my passion for handball goes back to 1979 when I was part of the first Indian handball team which went abroad, " Roop said.

“Post my career as a handball player, I worked with Sports Authority of India at every level ranging from sub-junior level to international," he added further.

With the inaugural season of the Premier Handball League starting on the 8th of June, the teams and fans will be looking for a thrilling season coming up.