New Delhi [India], January 4 (ANI): SG Pipers vice-captain KY Willott shared insights on the team's preparations for the Hockey India League (HIL) 2026 season, while captain Jarmanpreet Singh emphasised that the HIL offers young Indian hockey players valuable experience by playing alongside overseas talent.

The Delhi-based franchise will kick its HIL 2026 campaign off on January 5 against HIL GC. The league, however, kicks off with hosts Tamil Nadu Dragons taking on Hyderabad Toofans.

Speaking during a media interaction, KY Willott said that SG Pipers' preparation has been going well. Williott noted that the team has been focusing on key areas such as penalty corner defence and attack, as well as formations and pressing strategies, ahead of their first match tomorrow.

'Our preparation has been, yeah, tracking very nicely. Before I arrived, we'd already played a practice match, and from that to our last one, we've developed, but we still have a lot of key areas we need to work on. But we are tracking nicely for the first match tomorrow. The training has been good. We've been nailing down our penalty corner defence and attack. And also some formations and presses we're gonna be playing.'

Jarmanpreet Singh highlighted that every team has its own playing style and the HIL allows players to experience different international approaches. He noted that adapting to teammates from other countries is crucial, and it provides junior players valuable insights into global hockey strategies..

'Every team has a different style of play. Like for example, Australia play hockey differently, Holland plays differently, Belgium play differently, and likewise India has a different playing style. The most exciting part of HIL is playing with players from other nationalities as each one of the players has a different style of playing. How quickly all the players in the team can adapt and complement each other becomes crucial. However, the language of Hockey is the same all across,' he said.

'Playing alongside players from other countries also benefits junior team members, as it gives them insight into how teams worldwide play and how individual players approach the game,' the Indian player said.

SG Pipers Squad for HIL 2026:

Indian: Pawan, Rupinder Pal Singh, Varun Kumar, Manjeet, Rohit, Jarmanpreet Singh, Ankit Pal, Raj Kumar Pal, Thokchom Kingson Singh, Shamsher Singh, Aditya Lalage, Dilraj Singh, Sourabh Anand Khushwaha

Overseas: Tomas Santiago (ARG), Bram Van Battum (NED), Gareth Furlong (GBR), Willott Ky (AUS), Jacob Draper (GBR), Tomas Domene (ARG), Roman Duvekot (BEL).

The HIL 2026 season will have a single round-robin stage, with the top four teams advancing to the knockout rounds, unlike the previous edition, which split the teams into two groups of four teams for the first phase. In the playoffs, the top 2 teams will compete against each other in Qualifier 1, with the winner advancing to the final and the loser going into Qualifier 2. The second team of Qualifier 2 will be decided by the winner of Eliminator 1, which will be against the team ranked 3rd and 4th on the league table.

The eight teams featured in the Men's HIL include defending champions Shrachi Bengal Tigers, Hyderabad Toofans, Soorma Hockey Club, SG Pipers, Tamil Nadu Dragons, Vedanta Kalinga Lancers, Ranchi Royals and HIL GC, which has taken over UP Rudras. (ANI)