New Delhi, July 13 (IANS): With the players auction slated to take place in September, the Hockey India League (HIL) on Monday confirmed that the six existing franchises have the option to retain up to three domestic and three international players from their previous squad.

"The franchises will submit to HIL by July 20 the confirmation of the players they would like to retain from the squad contracted up to 2015," a release said.

In this year's HIL, Ranchi Rays, co-owned by Indian cricket icon Mahendra Singh Dhoni, emerged champions, defeating Jaypee Punjab Warriors.

Presently the league boasts of six teams with a minimum of 10 international players and 14 domestic players in each squad. Amongst the foreign players already present, world champions Australia alone had 26 players - the highest number of foreign players in the 2015 HIL.

HIL chairman Narinder Dhruv Batra said: "The move is aimed at giving an opportunity to the franchisee to retain the best talent among their existing squad. This way the teams will have a healthy mix of existing good players and young newcomers who will get a chance to learn from the experienced members.

"With the opportunity to retain up to three domestic and three foreign players, each of the franchises can retain players that are recognized with their team and have a connection to their teams fan base."