Handball
Premier Handball League Auction: 102 players sold to six franchises
Premier Handball League will kick off on June 8 with six teams taking on each other in the inaugural season.
The first-ever player auction for the inaugural season of the Premier Handball League (PHL) was held at Taj Lands End in Mumbai on Sunday.
The auction saw the six franchises- Delhi Panzers, Garvit Gujarat, Golden Eagles Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra Ironmen, Rajasthan Team (yet to be named), and Telugu Talons drafting in 102 players out of a total 116, who went under the hammer.
The auction was divided into International players, Star players, and Role players.
The first category consisted of international players from across the globe and all 18 International players were picked up by the teams. Each team was allowed to select only one foreign right-back, left-back, and goalkeeper.
The second category was reserved for Indian star players and 42 players were up for selection by the franchises. Under this category, each team was allowed to pick only one player for each of the seven positions i.e. Right Back, Left Back, Centre Back, Right Wing, Left Wing, and Pivot.
The final category of the day was called Role Players and 56 domestic Indian players were a part of the same with 42 players being picked by the franchises.
Here is the team-wise list of the most expensive players in every category:
Telugu Talons
Foreign Player: Andrei Igorevich Nedbailo, Goal Keeper (Russia)
Star Player: Raghu Kumara, Pivot
Role Player: Rahul Nain, Pivot
Garvit Gujarat
Foreign Player: Tuliboev Mukhtor, Right Back (Uzbekistan)
Star Player: Harender Singh Nain, Right Back
Role Player: Sachin Singh, Center Back
Golden Eagles
Foreign Player: Omid Reza, Goal Keeper (Iran)
Star Players: Bhushan Shinde, Right Wing
Role Player: Sanchit Gupta, Right Wing
Maharashtra Ironmen
Foreign Players: Jalal Kiani, Right Back (Iran)
Star Player: Ankit Kumar, Right Wing
Role Player: Mohit Punia, Right Back
Delhi Panzers
Foreign Players: Artem Martynov, Right Back (Russia)
Star Players: Mintu Sardar, Pivot
Role Players: Deepak Ghanghas, Pivot
Team Rajasthan
Foreign Player: Baderaladeen Naser, Left Back (Iraq)
Star Player: Robin Singh, Left Back
Role Player: Mohit Ghanghas, Left Back
The inaugural season of the Premier Handball League is set to kick off on June 8 and run until June 25, 2023.
