Fourteen leading foreign players, including Mohammad Saqlain, Rehan Butt and Balder Bomans, will be seen in action in the second edition of the Premier Hockey League, starting in Chandigarh on Thursday.
For the first time in the history of the game the services of a third umpire will be utilized in the tournament, which will have a best-of-three final.
Defending champions Hyderabad Sultans and Maratha Warriors hit-off the month-long extravaganza.
While Hyderabad Sultans is led by Indian hockey stalwart Dilip Tirkey, spirited midfielder Viren Rasquinha is captain of Maratha Warriors.
The other three teams in the premier division also look good enough to offer a tough challenge.
Sher-e-Jalandhar, the side that lost to Sultans in the final last year, is led by star striker Gagan Ajit Singh.
The Arjun Halappa-led Bangalore Lions also should be a tough nut to crack.
Led by Rajpal Singh, local flavour Chandigarh Dynamos could be the team to watch out for as it boasts of names like Balder Bomans (The Netherlands) and Mudassar Ali Khan (Pakistan).
Of the foreign players, eight are from Pakistan, two each from The Netherlands and Spain, and one each from Argentina and New Zealand.
Among the Pakistani players, Salman Akbar and Shakeel Abbasi will play for Hyderabad Sultans, The other Pakistanis are Rehan Butt (Bangalore Lions), Mohammad Saqlain (Sher-e-Jalandhar), Adnan Zakir and Imran Warsi (Maratha Warriors) and Imran Khan and Mudassar Ali Khan (Chandigarh Dynamos).
The Netherlands' Balder Bomans will play for Chandigarh Dynamos and Lodewijk de Bruijn for Maratha Warriors.
While Jordi Quintana of Spain will play for Bangalore Lions, compatriot Pau Quemada will play for Sher-e-Jalandhar.
Argentina's Jorge Lombi will turn out for Hyderabad Sultans and New Zealand's Bevan Hari will be represent Sher-e-Jalandhar
Schedule:
(Tier-I)
Week 1:
Jan 5: Maratha Warriors vs Hyderabad Sultans 19:00 IST
Jan 6: Hyderabad Sultans vs Bangalore Lions 19:00
Jan 7: Sher-E-Jalandhar vs Maratha Warriors 19:00
Jan 8: Chandigarh Dynamos vs Sher-E-Jalandhar 19:00
Week 2:
Jan 12: Sher-E-Jalandhar vs Hyderabad Sultans 19:00
Jan 13: Maratha Warriors vs Chandigarh Dynamos 19:00
Jan 14: Bangalore Lions vs Sher-E-Jalandhar 19:00
Jan 15: Chandigarh Dynamos vs Bangalore Lions 19:00
Week 3:
Jan 19: Bangalore Lions vs Maratha Warriors 19:00
Jan 20: Hyd Sultans vs Chandigarh Dynamos 19:00
Jan 21: Sher-E-Jalandhar vs Chandigarh Dynamos 19:00
Jan 22: Hyd Sultans vs Maratha Warriors 19:00
Week 4:
Jan 23: Bangalore Lions vs Chandigarh Dynamos 19:00
Jan 24: Hyd Sultans vs Sher-E-Jalandhar 19:00
Jan 25: Maratha Warriors vs Bangalore Lions 19:00
Jan 26: Chandigarh Dynamos vs Hyd Sultans 17:00
Jan 26: Maratha Warriors vs Sher-E-Jalandhar 19:00
Jan 27: Bangalore Lions vs Hyd Sultans 19:00
Jan 28: Chandigarh Dynamos vs Maratha Warriors 19:00
Jan 29: Sher-E-Jalandhar vs Bangalore Lions 19:00
Week 5: (Finals)
Jan 30: Team P1 vs Team P2 19:00
Jan 31: Team P2 vs Team P1 19:00
Feb 01: Team P1 vs Team P2 19:00
Note: Top two teams qualify for a best-of-three final after the round-robin league.
(Tier-II)
Week 1:
Jan 5 Delhi Dazzlers vs Orissa Steelers 14:05
Jan 6 Chennai Veerans vs Lucknow Nawabs 14:05
Jan 7 Imphal Rangers vs Delhi Dazzlers 14:05
Jan 8 Lucknow Nawabs vs Imphal Rangers 11:30
Jan 8 Orissa Steelers Chennai Veerans 14:05
Week 2:
Jan 11 Imphal Rangers vs Chennai Veerans 11:30
Jan 11 Orissa Steelers vs Lucknow Nawabs 14:05
Jan 12 Lucknow Nawabs vs Delhi Dazzlers 11:30
Jan 12 Chennai Veerans vs Orissa Steelers 14:05
Jan 13 Orissa Steelers vs Imphal Rangers 11:30
Jan 13 Delhi Dazzlers vs Chennai Veerans 14:05
Jan 14 Lucknow Nawabs vs Chennai Veerans 14:05
Jan 15 Imphal Rangers vs Lucknow Nawabs 11:30
Jan 15 Orissa Steelers vs Delhi Dazzlers 14:05
Week 3:
Jan 18 Chennai Veerans vs Imphal Rangers 11:30
Jan 18 Lucknow Nawabs vs Orissa Steelers 14:05
Jan 19 Chennai Veerans vs Delhi Dazzlers 14:05
Jan 20 Delhi Dazzlers vs Imphal Rangers 14:05
Jan 21 Delhi Dazzlers vs Lucknow Nawabs 14:05
Jan 22 Imphal Rangers vs Orissa Steelers 14:05
Note: The winner will be decided on the performance in the round-robin league.