Nagpur: Aakib Rahim and Syed Niyaz Rahim, Nagpur’s hockey players and cousin brothers, who are dazzling all over the country with their skilful game, have been picked in the draft for the relaunched Hockey India’s Hockey India League (HIL) which will be back after a break of seven years.
Midfielder Aakib is playing for Indian Navy while Niyaz, also a midfielder, is captain of Indian Railways and has led the team to title victories on many occasions. Niyaz was also in India’s 33-member core probables’ list for the Tokyo Olympics. Both the players are expecting to be picked by one of the eight franchises during the mega auction to be held on Sunday and Monday. The base prices are set at Rs 2 lakh, Rs 5 lakh and Rs 10 lakh.
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According to a local media report, several franchises are collecting information about both players and have shown interest in them. The eight men’s teams are named as Delhi SG Pipers, Hyderabad Toofans, Kalinga Lancers, Bengal Tigers, Team Chennai, Team Lucknow, Team Punjab and Team Ranchi. The league will be held in December.
Niyaz has been leading the Indian Railways team since 2019 and under his leadership the team has won five gold medals in Hockey India’s national championship. Similarly, Aakib, a former St John’s High School and Sindhu Mahavidyalaya student, has also won titles for the Indian Navy. He has also won the gold medal for the Services team at Jhansi Nationals. Aakib also helped the Navy team win the title at Senior Nehru Hockey Tournament in 2022. Aakib also represented Mohun Bagan that won the Kolkata Premier League last year.
