The Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) is a men's Twenty20 (T20) cricket league that is annually held in the state of Tamil Nadu in India and contested by eight city-based franchise teams. The league was formed in 2016 by the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA). It is usually played during post summer season from June to August of every year. Shriram Group is the current title sponsor of the tournament.

As of 2023, there have been seven seasons of the tournament. The present title holder is Lyca Kovai Kings.Chepauk Super Gillies are the most successful team after winning the title four times.

History

Background

In 2016, the TNPL was launched at the time when Chennai Super Kings, the Tamil Nadu franchise playing Indian Premier League (IPL), was facing a two-year suspension from the league. The league was aimed to make up for the absence of high-profile matches in Chennai in the year and to expose talented players from districts. It was conceived by former BCCI president and then TNCA president N. Srinivasan.

Franchise rights

On 1 May 2016, TNCA invited bidders for the eight franchise rights. A total of 17 bidders participated in the bidding process and current members of TNCA were not allowed to participate. The base price set for each franchise was 1.25 crore (US$160,000) for a period of 10 years. The franchise rights was sold for 33.51 crore (US$4.2 million) and the highest bidder chose Salem for 5.21 crore (US$650,000).

Winning bidders
Owner Franchise Price
Vivo South Chennai distributor Selvakumar Salem Spartans 5.21 crore (US$650,000)
Metronation Chennai Chepauk Super Gillies 5.13 crore (US$640,000)
Lyca Productions Lyca Kovai Kings 5.01 crore (US$630,000)
Kothari (Madras) Ltd. Madurai Panthers 4.001 crore (US$500,000)
(Need to be Updated) Trichy Grand Cholas 3.69 crore (US$460,000)
Crown Forts Ltd. Nellai Royal Kings 3.48 crore (US$440,000)
Take Solutions Ltd Dindigul Dragons 3.42 crore (US$430,000)
I Dream cinemas iDream Tiruppur Tamizhans 3.3 crore (US$410,000)

Foundation

On 16 August 2016, the first edition was inaugurated by MS Dhoni in Chennai. The first edition featured international cricketers including Ravichandran Ashwin, Murali Vijay, Dinesh Karthik and Lakshmipathy Balaji. Former cricketers Robin Singh and Michael Bevan were among the coaches. Matthew Hayden was the brand ambassador of the league. No players representing other state associations participated in the inaugural season as they were not given permission at the time by the BCCI. Star Sports were the TV broadcasters. The first season was played from 24 August to 18 September.

De Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) is een professioneel twintig20-crickettoernooi in de Indiase staat Tamil Nadu. Het toernooi werd opgericht in 2016 door de Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) en wordt sinds 2016 jaarlijks gehouden.

De TNPL is een franchise-gebaseerd toernooi, met acht teams die elk een stad of regio in Tamil Nadu vertegenwoordigen. De teams zijn:

* Chepauk Super Gillies
* Dindigul Dragons
* iDream Tiruppur Tamizhans
* Karaikudi Kaalai
* Lyca Kovai Kings
* Madurai Panthers
* Nellai Royal Kings
* Salem Spartans

Het toernooi wordt gespeeld in een round-robin-formaat, waarbij elk team twee keer tegen elk ander team speelt. De top vier teams kwalificeren zich voor de play-offs, die bestaan uit twee halve finales en een finale.

De TNPL is uitgegroeid tot een van de meest populaire crickettoernooien in India, en trekt grote belangstelling van zowel fans als spelers. Het toernooi is een belangrijk onderdeel van het cricketlandschap in Tamil Nadu, en heeft bijgedragen aan de ontwikkeling van enkele van de beste cricketspelers van de staat.