Tamil Nadu Premier League facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL)

Official TNPL logo
Countries	India
Administrator	TNCA
Format	Twenty20
First edition	2016
Latest edition	2023
Next edition	2024
Tournament format	Round Robin format with Group System and Playoffs
Number of teams	8
Current champion	Lyca Kovai Kings (2023)
Most successful	Chepauk Super Gillies (4 titles)
Most runs	Narayan Jagadeesan (1240)
Most wickets	R Sai Kishore (85)
TV	Star Sports (TV) Fancode (Internet)

The Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL) is an exciting Twenty20 (T20) cricket tournament for men in India. It happens every year in the state of Tamil Nadu. Eight teams, each from a different city, play against each other.

The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) started the league in 2016. It usually takes place after summer, from June to August. Shriram Group is the main sponsor of the tournament right now.

As of 2023, there have been seven seasons of the TNPL. The Lyca Kovai Kings are the current champions. The Chepauk Super Gillies are the most successful team, having won the title four times.

About the TNPL

How the League Started

The TNPL began in 2016. At that time, the Chennai Super Kings, a big team from Tamil Nadu in the Indian Premier League (IPL), was suspended for two years. The TNPL was created to fill this gap. It also aimed to give talented cricket players from different parts of Tamil Nadu a chance to show their skills. N. Srinivasan, a former president of the BCCI and then TNCA president, came up with the idea.

Choosing the Teams

On May 1, 2016, the TNCA asked companies to bid for the rights to own the eight teams. Seventeen different groups wanted to own a team. People who were already part of the TNCA could not bid. Each team's starting price was set at about 1.25 crore Indian Rupees for 10 years. In total, the rights for all teams were sold for about 33.51 crore Indian Rupees. The team for Salem was sold for the highest price, about 5.21 crore Indian Rupees.

First Season Details

The first TNPL season started on August 16, 2016, in Chennai. Famous cricketer MS Dhoni officially opened it. Top international players like Ravichandran Ashwin and Dinesh Karthik played in this first season. Former cricketers Robin Singh and Michael Bevan were coaches. Matthew Hayden was the league's brand ambassador.

Players from other states were not allowed to play in the first season. Star Sports broadcasted the matches on TV. The first season ran from August 24 to September 18.

How the Tournament Works

Game Format

The eight teams play against each other in a "round-robin" style. This means every team plays every other team once. Teams get two points for each win.

After all the league games, the top four teams move on to the "playoffs." The playoffs are similar to the IPL. They have three matches before the final game.

• The top two teams from the league play in Qualifier 1. The winner goes straight to the final.
• The loser of Qualifier 1 gets another chance.
• The third and fourth place teams play in an Eliminator match. The winner of this match moves on.
• The winner of the Eliminator then plays the loser of Qualifier 1 in Qualifier 2.
• The winner of Qualifier 2 goes to the final to play the winner of Qualifier 1. The team that wins the final is crowned champion!

Player Selection and Pay

Abhinav Mukund was one of the top players in the draft in 2020.

Each team can have between 16 and 22 players. They can keep up to three players from their team in the previous season. Before each new season, there's a "player draft." Players are put into four groups based on how much experience they have.

In 2016, the highest salary for experienced players (Category A) was 5 lakh Indian Rupees. By 2020, this went up to 6 lakh Indian Rupees.

Until 2020, the BCCI did not allow players from other states to join the TNPL. Now, a team can have up to two players from outside Tamil Nadu. These players cannot be part of an IPL team at the same time. A special draft for these "outstation" players happened after the 2020 IPL season.

Money and Sponsors

India Cements Limited was the main sponsor from 2016 to 2019. In its first year, the TNCA earned about 33.51 crore Indian Rupees from selling team rights. This was the highest amount among all local T20 leagues in India.

The TNPL shares its money in a way similar to the IPL. For the first five years, 80% of the money from TV rights and sponsorships goes to the eight teams. The remaining 20% goes to the TNCA. This does not include the costs of hosting matches. Most of the money (65%) is split equally among the teams. The rest (15%) is given to teams based on how well they perform in the league. Money from ticket sales is not shared with the teams. To attract sponsors, team owners were asked to name their teams after cities or districts in Tamil Nadu.

In 2019, some teams faced money problems. They asked the TNCA to change how the league's money was shared.

Prize Money

The winning teams and participants receive prize money:

• Champions: ₹1 crore (US$170,000) (1 crore Indian Rupees)
• Runner-up: ₹60 lakh (US$100,000) (60 lakh Indian Rupees)
• Two semi-finalists: ₹40 lakh (US$68,000) each (40 lakh Indian Rupees each)
• Other participants: ₹25 lakh (US$43,000) (25 lakh Indian Rupees)

Teams

Current Teams

There are eight teams in the league. Each team is named after a city in Tamil Nadu. Every team can have a maximum of 22 players, including two players from outside the state.

Former Teams

Some teams have changed their names or been replaced over the years. Here's a look at the teams that are no longer active under their original names:

Team History Timeline

This timeline shows how the teams have changed over the years.

Present teams Former teams

Match Locations

For the first few seasons until 2019, matches were held at three main places. The league games took place in Dindigul and Tirunelveli. The playoff matches were always played in Chennai.

From the 2020 season onwards, Salem and Coimbatore also started hosting matches.

Panaroma of the M A Chidambaram stadium

Tournament Results

Final Matches

Here are the winners and runners-up of each TNPL season:

Team Performances Over Seasons

This table shows how each team has performed in different seasons:

• Teams are listed in alphabetical order by the year they joined the league.

^† This team is no longer active under this name. ^{^} The final match had no result, so the trophy was shared.

•      C: Champions (won the tournament)
•      RU: Runner-up (came in second place)
•      SF or PO: Team reached the semi-final or playoff stage.

Records

Highest Team Scores

Here are the highest total scores made by teams in a single match:

Sources:

Highest Individual Scores

These are the highest scores made by a single player in one match:

Sources:

Sponsors and Broadcasting

Title Sponsors

From 2016 to 2019, India Cements Limited (Sankar Cement) was the main sponsor of the league. In March 2020, the TNCA looked for a new main sponsor.

TV and Digital Rights

In 2016, Star India bought the rights to broadcast the matches for 7.1 crore Indian Rupees. This made them the official broadcast partner. The deal was worth between 7.2 crore and 10 crore Indian Rupees for the first year. It was expected to be between 8 crore and 12 crore Indian Rupees in the second year.

Disney Star broadcasts the matches on Star Sports 1 HD with English comments. They also show it on Star Sports 1 Tamil HD with Tamil comments. Star also streams the matches online through their platform, Disney+ Hotstar.

Satellite TV Rights

Digital Rights

See also

• List of regional T20 cricket leagues in India