With one eye on the upcoming Hockey India League (HIL) 2026, franchises geared up for a HIL 2026 mini-auction, where over 100 men's players participated to secure a place in the biggest hockey competition. The salary cap for each franchise was INR 4 crore, with each squad consisting of 20 players, which includes two goalkeepers and 18 outfield players, with a maximum of seven overseas and three Indian junior players a must. Hockey India League Governing Council Takes Over UP Rudras Franchise for HIL 2026 Season.

The HIL 2026-27 mini-auction witnessed franchises break the bank for international and domestic talent, with 17-year-old Vivek Lakra being purchased for INR 23 lakh, while Australia's Liam Henderson got snapped up by INR 42 lakh. However, it was 14-year-old Ketan Kushwaha who stole the limelight, becoming the youngest signing of the mini-auction. Fans eager to know which franchise purchased which player in the HIL 2025-26 auction will get the entire information here.

Full Squads Of HIL 2025-26 Men's Franchises (Price in INR)

Hyderabad Toofans (All players were retained from original squad):

Mukul Sharma, Irengbam Rohit (Jr Player), Bikramjit Singh (Jr Player), Sundaram Rajawat (Jr Player), Arshdeep Singh (Jr Player), Devindar Sunil Walmiki, Amandeep Lakra, Nilakanta Sharma, Sumit, Rahim Aakib Sayyed, Rajinder, Shilanand Lakra, Talwinder Singh, Gonzalo Peillat (Overseas), Jean Paul Danneberg (Overseas), Nic Woods (Overseas), Jacob Anderson (Overseas), Arthur de Sloover (Overseas), Timothy Brand (Overseas), Zachary Wallace (Overseas).

JSW Soorma Hockey Club:

Retained - Sukhvinder (Jr Player), Pradip Mandal (Jr Player), Vincent Vanasch (Overseas), Jeremy Hayward (Overseas), Nicolás Della Torre (Overseas), Victor Wegnez (Overseas), Nicolas Keenan (Overseas), Dayaan Cassiem (Overseas), Nicolas Poncelet (Overseas), Mohith H S, Harmanpreet Singh, Gurinder Singh, Vivek Sagar Prasad, Harjeet Singh, Prabhjot Singh, Gurjant Singh, Maninder Singh, Pawan Rajbhar, Akashdeep Singh (Traded From UP Rudras).

New buy - Jeetpal (INR 3.2 Lakh).

Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers:

Retained - Gursewak Singh (Jr Player), Hayden Beltz (Overseas), Gauthier Boccard (Overseas), James Carr (Overseas), Sean Findlay (Overseas), Enrique Gonzalez (Overseas - Traded from Vedanta Kalinga Lancers), Christopher Rühr (Overseas - Traded from Delhi SG Pipers), Jugraj Singh, Jaskaran Singh, Pradhan Poovanna Chandura, Affan Yousuf, Atul Deep, Pardeep Singh Sandhu, Sukhjeet Singh, Abhishek.

New buys - Parmod (INR 5 Lakh), Vivek Lakra (INR 23 Lakhs), Ketan Kushwaha (INR 2.5 Lakh), Ajinkya Jadhav (INR 2 Lakh), Tom Grambusch (INR 10 Lakhs).

Tamil Nadu Dragons:

Retained - Pruthvi GM, Arun J (Jr Player), Prince Deep Singh (Jr Player), Chandan Yadav (Jr Player), Amit Rohidas, Anand Lakra, Mohd. Raheel Mouseen, Shesha Gowda, Selvam Karthi, Uttam Singh, Thomas Sorsby (Overseas), David Harte (Overseas), Moritz Ludwig (Overseas), Tom Craig (Overseas), Govers Blake (Overseas), Nathan Ephraums (Overseas).

New buys - Adrohit Ekka (INR 11 Lakhs), Sushil Dhanwar (INR 2 Lakh), K Selvaraj (INR 2 Lakh), Sander de Wijn (INR 36 Lakhs).

Vedanta Kalinga Lancers:

Retained - Gursahibjit Singh, Rohit Kullu (Jr Player), Deepak Pradhan (Jr Player), Rosan Kujur (Jr Player), Krishan B Pathak, Sanjay, Partap Lakra, Moriangthem Rabichandra, Dilpreet Singh, Angad Bir Singh, Alexander Hendrickx (Overseas), Arthur van Doren (Overseas), Antoine Kina (Overseas).

New buys - Liam Henderson (INR 42 Lakhs), Amit Toppo (INR 2 Lakh), Sunil PB (INR 2 Lakh), Bobby Singh Dhami (INR 10 Lakhs), Jed Snowden (INR 10 Lakhs), Cooper Burns (34.50 Lakhs), Craig Marais (INR 10 Lakhs).

Ranchi Royals:

Retained - Yashdeep Siwach, Amir Ali (Jr Player), Anmol Ekka (Jr Player), Araijeet Singh Hundal (Jr Player), Suraj Karkera, Nilam Sanjeep Xess, Manpreet Singh, Vishnukant Singh, Mandeep Singh, Timothee Clement (Overseas), Timothy Howard (Overseas), Mustapha Cassiem (Overseas), Tom Boon (Overseas).

New buys - Manmeet Singh Rai (INR 2 Lakh), Ashish Purty (INR 2 Lakh), Loick Luypaert (INR 10 Lakhs), Sam Lane (INR 10 Lakhs), Jack Waller (INR 10 Lakhs), Ravneet Singh (INR 5 Lakhs).

SG Pipers:

Retained - Manjeet, Thokchom Kingson Singh, Rohit (Jr Player), Ankit Pal (Jr Player), Dilraj Singh (Jr Player), Aditya Lalage (Jr Player), Sourabh Anand Kushwaha (Jr Player), Pawan, Jarmanpreet Singh, Varun Kumar, Shamsher Singh, Raj Kumar Pal, Willott KY (Overseas), Tomas Santiago (Overseas), Gareth Furlong (Overseas), Tomas Domene (Overseas), Jacob Draper (Overseas - Traded from Ranchi Royals Hockey).

New buys - Roman Duvekot (INR 10 Lakhs), Rupinder Pal Singh (INR 12 Lakhs), Bram Van Battum (INR 11 Lakhs).

HIL Governing Council (Formerly UP Rudras):

Retained - Prashant Barla (Jr Player), Priyobarta Talem (Jr Player), Manmeet Singh, Gurjot Singh, Prashant Kumar Chauhan, Surender Kumar, Hardik Singh, Lalit Kumar Upadhyay, Sudeep Chirmako, Jasjit Singh Kular, Sebastian Dockier (Overseas), Kane Russell (Overseas), Tanguy Cosyns (Overseas), James Mazarelo (Overseas), James Albery (Overseas), Sam Ward (Overseas).

New buys - Ajeet Yadav (INR 11.50 Lakhs), Thies Prinz (INR 36 Lakhs), Rahul Yadav (INR 2 Lakh), Mohd Harris (INR 2 Lakh).

Interestingly, franchises were only allowed to bid where they had sufficient budget and open playing positions available. Shrachi Rarh Bengal Tigers are the defending champions, having won the HIL 2024-25 edition, beating Hyderabad Toofans 4-3 in the competition final. Hockey India (HI) are yet to announce a schedule for HIL 2026.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 25, 2025 12:58 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).