Kenny Bain set to star for Wizards in Hockey India League

EuroHockey-Pol-Sco-2943 (1024x683)

Scotland striker Kenny Bain will become the nation’s first ever player to compete in the Hockey India League when the 2016 edition gets underway at the start of next week.

The former Kelburne star, who has already netted seven goals for Amsterdam HC in the Dutch Hoofdklasse this season, will team up with some of the world’s most high profile players for Utter Pradesh Wizards, the franchise that signed the 25 year-old for $17,000 in a hotly contested player auction last September.

In last week’s Sunday Herald, the Glasgow-born marksman enthused about the prospect of playing in the Hockey India League, stating “This is huge for me. There’s two guys in my team who have just been nominated for world player of the year including Jamie Dwyer from Australia, who’s an idol of mine. It was a very proud moment for me to be selected alongside all of these international players and it’s really amazing that I’m the first Scottish player to do this.”

“This is a massive opportunity but I don’t actually feel fazed about it because my team have paid money for me so they know what I can do. It’s just about enjoying the experience because being Scottish, I don’t get the chance to play in the huge tournaments so this is a chance that I need to grab by the horns and I’m really looking forward to it. I hope I can learn from the guys that I’m playing with and who better to learn from than the best players in the world? But I’m confident that I can hold my own too.”

Bain will hope to feature in the league’s opening match on Monday evening, when the Wizards travel to Bhubaneshwar to tackle the Kalinga Lancers, who finished fifth last season.

The Lucknow-based outfit is aiming to better the fourth place finish achieved in last year’s competition, spending $724,900 in the player auction, the highest by any of the competing franchises, to boost its chances of claiming a first ever Hockey India League title.

The Wizards have splashed the cash on signing Australian superstar and five-time world player of the year Jamie Dwyer, Germany’s double Olympic Gold Medallist Tobias Hauke, and Argentine penalty corner expert Gonzalo Peillat.

140426_D3_ARG-BEL_ (74)

(Argentina’s Gonzalo Peillat will feature alongside Bain in the Hockey India League.)

Additionally, home-based favourite and FIH World Young Player of the Year contender Akashdeep Singh was snapped up during the player bidding process, as well as fellow Indian international team-mates VR Raghunath, PR Sreejesh, Jaskaran Singh, Ramandeep Singh and Sunil Yadav.

UP Wizards coach, Roger Van Gent, recently said in the Indian press, “The team is a blend of youth and experience.  We have players from the Indian national team as well as good overseas talent. Fourth position was a good performance last year but we will looking to go the extra mile this year with the new team.”

Similar to cricket’s Twenty20 IPL, the fourth edition of the Hockey India League features six franchise teams, including the Wizards, Jaypee Punjab Warriors, Delhi Waveriders, Kalinga Lancers, Dabang Mumbai and current title holders Ranchi Rays.

Ten league matches will be played on a home and away basis over a condensed five week period to determine league standings. The top four teams will then contest two semi-finals, the winners progressing to a grand finale to determine this season’s champions. Hockey India League has confirmed Rachi Rays will host the play-offs.

388530-ranchi-rays-team-cel-700 (1)

(Ranchi Rays were Hockey India League’s title winners last year. Photo Credit: Zee News, India)

The entire competition will be broadcast exclusively live by Hockey India League partner Star Sports and fans can follow Kenny’s progress by visiting www.starsports.com for all the Hockey India League action.

You can also follow Kenny on Twitter.

Full information on the 2016 competition can be found on the Hockey India League website

EuroHockey-Sco-Cze-2559 (1280x853)

 

 

Recent posts:

Back to all news
Back to top