Revamped Mumbai HIL franchise ropes in Viren Rasquinha as mentor

The Mumbai franchise of the Hockey India League (HIL) have roped in former India captain Viren Rasquinha as their strategic advisor and mentor for the upcoming season.

HIL had run into troubled waters after Dabur Group-owned Mumbai Magicians pulled out of the third edition of the tournament. The new owners – DoIT Sports Management that also owns Pro Kabaddi League's Dabang Delhi – came to HIL's rescue in September and now it seems they want to start afresh.

Firstly, the Mumbai franchise, which was earlier called Mumbai Magicians, will now be called Dabang Mumbai. Secondly, they have completely changed their support staff and have decided not to retain any players from the previous team.

"I don't want to comment on what the previous franchise did and how they went about things," Rasquinha said during the launch of the franchise on Thursday. "For us, it's a fresh start and that's why we have decided not to retain any player from the previous squad. We might bid for some players in the auction in New Delhi on Saturday, and our priority right now is selecting a good team."

Rasquinha added that the players in the upcoming auctions will be bought only on a one-year contract. Players from all other six franchises will go into the pool for the year after that.

Apart from Rasquinha, Dabang Mumbai have hired Valentin Altenburg, who is the head coach of German junior men's team, as their chief coach, former India skipper Anil Aldrin as coach, former India goalkeeper Edger Mascarenhas as their goalkeeping coach and Germany's Jens Hillmann as their performance analyst.