HIL closed bid: At $99,000, Gurbaj Singh is top buy

New Delhi: He has been out of national reckoning for more than an year over disciplinary issues, but midfielder Gurbaj Singh proved his worth when he was notched up for a whopping $99,000 by Ranchi Rays in a closed bid for the Hockey India League Season Four. This is the highest amount a franchise has spent on any Indian in the last four years, with strikers Akashdeep Singh ($84,000) and Ramandeep Singh ($81,000) being the most expensive players in the auction last year.

Gurbaj was involved in a bitter standoff with Hockey India — he had approached the high court after HI banned him for nine months on charges of groupism — and has been out of favour since August 2015.

On Wednesday, when team owners met to decide on replacements for HIL-4, Gurbaj’s name was the first on the list with a base price of just $17,000. The franchises fought frantically over the 29-year-old right half, who has over 200 internationals to his name, and Harendra Singh-coached Ranchi bagged the deal with the huge sum (Rs 67.30 lakh).

Said Gurbaj, “I always believed in my ability and kept working on my fitness and game. I am grateful at this opportunity and will do my best to perform up to expectations.”

Among overseas players, Germany forward Christopher Ruhr was the costliest buy — also by Ranchi — at $75,000.

Other notable bids were for Tom Craig (Kalinga Lancers), Robert van der Horst (Punjab Warriors) and Seve van Ass (Uttar Pradesh Wizards).

The franchises put faith in young talent with 18-year-old defender Hardik Singh being the most expensive of the lot, picked by Punjab for $39,000.

Other notable buys among youngsters were Shamsher Singh and Ajay Yadav, both by Uttar Pradesh Wizards, while India’s U-17 Asia Cup winning captain Nilam Sanjeep Xess went to Kalinga Lancers.