Tamil Nadu built its own T20 league when Chennai's IPL team was banned
When the Chennai Super Kings were suspended from the Indian Premier League in 2015 over their owners' links to illegal betting, Tamil Nadu suddenly had no big Twenty20 cricket. The state association filled the gap itself, launching an eight-team city league in 2016 that MS Dhoni opened.
The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association announced the plan in April 2016 and invited franchise bids that May. Seventeen bidders competed, and the eight franchise rights sold for ₹335.1 million in total, each for ten years. The first season ran from 24 August to 18 September 2016, with league games in Tirunelveli and Dindigul and the knockouts at Chennai's Chepauk ground. A draft of 888 players, divided into three price bands, filled the squads, and teams were encouraged to take district names to attract local sponsors.
The format soon copied the IPL. After a first year with semi-finals, the league moved to a playoff system in which the top two teams meet for a direct place in the final while the loser gets a second chance against the winner of an eliminator between third and fourth. Until 2020 the national board barred players from outside the state; since then each team may field up to two outstation players, provided they are not in the IPL. In 2023 an auction replaced the draft.
The business side has been bumpy. In 2019 five franchises complained of losses, poor umpiring, small venues and weak television ratings, and some demanded an audit, while the association replied that it already passed on 80 per cent of broadcast and sponsorship income. The same year, allegations of match fixing forced one franchise to drop two co-owners and rebrand as Salem Spartans. Teams have shuffled names and cities repeatedly since.
On the field, Chepauk Super Gillies lead with four titles, while Kovai Kings won their third in 2026. Champions collect ₹10 million, and even the bottom four teams take home ₹2.5 million each.
Source: Tamil Nadu Premier League
