The men's and women's Hockey India League has been played in Ranchi and Rourkela, with hopes to bring the league to more cities.
Sai Prakash Kommireddi describes himself as a marketing professional who has mixed both cement and sports over a 40-year business career. From the might of the Indian Premier League (IPL), he is now at the helm of a sports group which aims to muscle in on the sporting landscape beyond cricket's saturated market.
“We want to be involved in sports where athletes need more gratification, more reward than what they get,” says Prakash, who oversees volleyball and hockey teams in the franchise-heavy world of Indian sports.
Prakash started his career in 1985 with Chennai-based India Cements. His own path into sports was forged with the conglomerate owning IPL cricket franchise Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and where he led the commercial and marketing division.
When Dubai-based businessman Alok Sanghi, whose Resolute Group has interests in financial services, real estate and hair accessories, sold Sanghi Industries to Adani Group-owned Ambuja Cements in 2023, he set up a sports investment arm and instilled Prakash as CEO.
“He believes the greatest content that has appeal in the world is the right content,” says Prakash, who grew up and was educated in the port city of Visakhapatnam.
Hyderabad Toofans and Resolute Sports CEO Sai Prakash.
Resolute Sports owns the Delhi Toofans franchise in the Prime Volleyball League and invested into their second sport last year when they became owners of Hyderabad Toofans in the Men's Hockey India League (HIL), which returned this month after a seven-year hiatus.
Eight men's teams have competed in Rourkela, along with four franchises in the inaugural women's competition staged in Ranchi, with Hyderabad Toofans securing their place in Saturday's final here.
There are high hopes for HIL 2.0 after it originally ran from 2013 until 2017, the league suffering several stumbling blocks over finances, salary issues and scheduling.
Hockey India is reportedly investing a staggering $12.8m (£10.3m) each year to sustain its flagship event, although the governing body had yet to confirm the figure to Yahoo Finance. Total prize money for this edition is $1.5m (£1.2m).
“2008 was the first year IPL started and up until 2016 we didn’t make any money until the third cycle of the media rights,” admits Prakash.
“You know that entry into the league is not going to be profitable right away. Sports business sense is all about building the value of the property and there is no way a team can do well if the league isn’t doing well.
“India plays world-class hockey, it’s the national game of India and it is a game in India which commercially has underperformed so far.”
Prakash cites hockey's fast-paced 80 minutes where “the eyeballs aren’t disengaged and you can get engrossed”, adding that HIL has the makings of being “one of the best contents in India sports".
Prakash won’t divulge financial numbers but says investment into the Hyderabad franchise is “substantial”. Compared to the first HIL incarnation, other franchises feature big-hitters such as JSW Group, a $23bn-valued steel manufacturing firm which also owns IPL side Delhi Capitals, investment management firm Charles Group and agro-machinery conglomerate Shrachi Group.
India's hockey superstar Harmanpreet Singh was purchased for £72,000 by Soorma Hockey Club, with franchises allowed a maximum of eight foreign players. ·aceimages.in HIL
“Two or three seasons we should be there [commercially]. It’s how we build season upon season and it's up to us to make people aware,” believes Prakash, who adds that Resolute Group is looking into franchise investments across other sports.
“You go through the tunnel only when you see the light at the end of the tunnel. That was the most important thing missing in HIL 1.
“Every league’s success depends upon the kind of franchises you are getting. Sense of sports business, which is the long wait, building a brand, league and event team working for the league. And then deep pockets to go through the journey. I believe the majority of the franchises do have these factors.”
The vision for HIL organisers and franchise owners is for 10-year growth on the lines of cricket’s IPL model where the revenue changes. “For the first 10 years you pay the franchise fee, after that it becomes a percentage of your earnings, that is the plan I have understood,” adds Prakash.
In its first run, HIL played matches on a home-and-away format in Chandigarh, Mumbai, Lucknow, Delhi and Ranchi, racking up considerable travel costs in the process.
Rourkela's Birsa Munda International Hockey Stadium in Odisha holds over 20,000 fans and is the biggest hockey-specific venue in the world. ·DIRK WAEM via Getty Images
There is an undoubted fan base here, given that crowds of 7,000 were present in Ranchi, while the steel city of Rourkela completed the world’s largest hockey stadium, a $31m, 21,000 capacity project in 2023.
“At any event fatigue comes into it in a single location,” Prakash says of the current one venue set-up. “The same fans come back which means the level of the game is great and there is entertainment for them.
“We should take it across India and we will increase our fan base, a hybrid model with four to five locations next season. I do hope so.”
Having purchased Germany’s Gonzalo Peillat for £63,000 to become the most expensive foreign player – Hyderabad also have British star Zach Wallace – the Toofans believe they have the best set-up in both analysis and data science.
“As a CEO I don’t like to get into the game part of it,” says Prakash. “I may have my opinions but we are good at the business of sport and ensuring it’s a viable property to be associated with. We are very good at setting up the right people for the right job, for our team to get things organised.”
CEO says: My leadership hero
I don’t call Rakesh Singh [vice president of India Cements] a mentor but he has been a great influence on my career. He identified my potential and made sure I held the responsibilities which I can give my best.
He always said ‘Sai, you are the only guy I want to report to me, although you don't listen to me!’
I was handling marketing at India Cements and I told him one of my ambitions was to handle Chennai Super Kings. The next day he gave me the job. When CSK gave me a send off, Rakesh refused to give me one is what he said, as he believed I still had more to give back to sports.
He was handling CSK before me and said, ‘He has done better than me’. Who would have the courage to say that?
