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)
Drumstick Productions Ba11sy Trichy 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.

**Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL)**

Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) er en indisk Twenty20-cricketturnering som organiseres av Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA). Ligaen ble grunnlagt i 2016 og er en av de mest prestisjetunge Twenty20-turneringene i India.

**Lag:**
TNPL består av åtte lag som representerer forskjellige byer og distrikter i Tamil Nadu. Lagene er:
* Chepauk Super Gillies
* Coimbatore Kings
* Dindigul Dragons
* IDream Tiruppur Tamizhans
* Karaikudi Kaalai
* Madurai Panthers
* Nellai Royal Kings
* Ruby Trichy Warriors

**Format:**
TNPL spilles i et dobbeltseriers round-robin-format, der hvert lag møter hvert annet lag to ganger i løpet av den innledende fasen. De fire beste lagene kvalifiserer seg til sluttspillet, som inkluderer to semifinaler og en finale.

**Spillere:**
TNPL har sett deltakelse fra noen av de beste cricketspillerne i India, inkludert:

* MS Dhoni
* Ravichandran Ashwin
* Murali Vijay
* Dinesh Karthik
* Ambati Rayudu

**Mestere:**
Siden starten i 2016 har følgende lag vunnet TNPL:

* 2016: Chepauk Super Gillies
* 2017: Madurai Super Giants
* 2018: Dindigul Dragons
* 2019: Chepauk Super Gillies
* 2021: IDream Tiruppur Tamizhans

**Popularitet:**
TNPL er en ekstremt populær turnering i Tamil Nadu og har en stor fanskare over hele delstaten. Kampene spilles for fulle hus, og turneringen får mye oppmerksomhet fra media.

**Økonomisk betydning:**
TNPL har også hatt en positiv økonomisk innvirkning på staten Tamil Nadu. Turneringen har skapt mange jobber og har bidratt betydelig til den lokale økonomien.