Prime Volleyball League: Stage set for player auction on December 14
The Prime Volleyball League player auction will take place in Kochi, Kerala, on December 14.
More than 400 players, both Indian and international, will go under the hammer, making it the largest player auction in volleyball.
The seven franchises in the Prime Volleyball League are Calicut Heroes, Kochi Blue Spikers, Ahmedabad Defenders, Hyderabad Black Hawks, Chennai Blitz, Bengaluru Torpedoes and Kolkata Thunderbolts. They can select a total of 14 players for their squads, comprising 12 Indians and 2 international players.
The players have been divided into different categories - Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze. Indian players Ashwal Rai, Ajithlal C, Akhin GS, Deepesh Kumar Sinha, Jerome Vinith, Karthik A, Naveen Raja Jacob and Vinit Kumar have been slotted into the Platinum Category. The Gold, Silver and Bronze Categories will feature 33, 141 and 205 players respectively.
A total of 23 players will also go under the hammer in the U-21 Category.
Also Read: Prime Volleyball League: Hyderabad Black Hawks to focus on local players from state
International players like David Lee (USA) and Luis Antonio Arias Guzman (Venezuela) will feature in the Prime Volleyball League International Player Draft during the auction on Tuesday.
Prime Volleyball League announces head coaches of franchises
The head coaches for the franchises in the Prime Volleyball League have also been named. Ahmedabad Defenders will be coached by Sajjad Hussain and S Dakshinamoorthy. KR Lakshminarayana will be in charge of coaching the Bengaluru Torpedoes franchise.
Calicut Heroes will be coached by Kishor Kumar, Chander Singh will helm Chennai Blitz and Hyderabad Black Hawks will be coached by Ruben Wolochin.
Dr MH Kumara will be the coach for Kochi Blue Spikers and Sunny Joseph will coach Kolkata Thunderbolts.
Tuhin Mishra, co-founder and MD of Baseline Ventures, spoke about the Prime Volleyball League Auction. He said a platform for young and budding volleyball players has been created with the advent of the league. Mishra said:
“It's our endeavor to provide a platform to talented volleyball players to showcase their skills and develop a successful career in volleyball and we are looking forward to witnessing the franchises construct their squads at the auction on Tuesday. We wish all the franchises the very best of luck."
Joy Bhattacharya, CEO of the Prime Volleyball League, said the Prime Volleyball League is the start of a 'volleyball revolution' in India. He said:
“There are a number of immensely talented emerging volleyball players in India, and we are delighted to provide them the opportunity to play alongside some of the biggest Indian and international volleyball. The Prime Volleyball League Auction is the start of the volleyball revolution we have envisioned for India and we cannot wait for the action to unfold on Tuesday."
The Prime Volleyball League will consist of 24 games and the schedule for the upcoming season will be out shortly. The league will be telecasted on the Sony Sports Network.
Also read: Prime Volleyball League might be played in Kerala only: Joy Bhattacharya