Bengaluru to be HIL's seventh team in 2018

New Delhi, Nov 15: Hockey India League (HIL) will have its seventh franchise in Bengaluru with the JSW Steel Group-owned outfit set to enter the fray in 2018, league chairman Narinder Batra announced on Tuesday.

HIL has been a six-team affair since its inception in 2013 and with the entry of Bengaluru, the league will enter the southern part of India for the first time in what could be a clear indication of its steady rise.

"A new HIL team will come on board since 2018 in Bengaluru. We have had a lot of discussions with Jindal Steel and they have agreed to play from 2018," Batra said here, after holding his first press conference in India after being elected president of the International Hockey Federation (FIH).

Currently, HIL's six franchises are based in Delhi, Mumbai, Chandigarh, Lucknow, Ranchi and Bhubaneswar.