[2] The 5 inaugural members of the new Premier Hockey League in 2005 were Bangalore Hi-Fliers, Chennai Veerans, Hyderabad Sultans, Maratha Warriors and Sher-e-Jalandhar.

If the match is deadlocked after full-time, the number of players of each team got gradually reduced till a result is obtained.

In addition, another feature of the PHL for the year 2007 has been the innovative penalty shootout competition, modelled similar to the ice hockey.

At the time of launch, many in the Indian hockey circles were delighted with the intention of reviving the flagging sport.

Experts accused the Indian Hockey Federation of being too lethargic and bureaucratic in popularizing the sport.

Hockey players of the likes of Sohail Abbas excited a number of youngsters and drew them towards the game.

Critics argued that traditional hockey bastions such as Kodagu, Jharkhand, Odisha and parts of Punjab were ignored and the organizers stated that in due course of time more teams would be included.

This measure, originally pioneered by PHL as quickening the pace of the game, has survived to this day.

PHL's introduction of franchise teams This served as a template for later sports leagues including the IPL.