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.^[6][7] 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.^[8][9] It was conceived by former BCCI president and then TNCA president N. Srinivasan.^[6][9][10]

Franchise rights

On 1 May 2016, TNCA invited bidders for the eight franchise rights.^[11][12] A total of 17 bidders participated in the bidding process and current members of TNCA were not allowed to participate.^[6] 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).^[13][6]

Salem Spartans

Chepauk Super Gillies

Lyca Kovai Kings

Madurai Panthers

Ba11sy Trichy

Nellai Royal Kings

Dindigul Dragons

iDream Tiruppur Tamizhans

Location of TNPL teams

Foundation

On 16 August 2016, the first edition was inaugurated by MS Dhoni in Chennai.^[9][14] 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.^[9][15][16] Star Sports were the TV broadcasters.^[9] The first season was played from 24 August to 18 September.^[17]

Tournament format

The eight teams play against each other in the league phase in round-robin format. Teams will get two points for each win. At the end of the league stage, top four teams in the points table will qualify for the playoffs. Much like the IPL, the playoffs consist of three matches before the final: one eliminator and two qualifiers. The top two teams from the league phase will play against each other in the Qualifier 1, with the winner going straight to the final and the loser getting another chance to qualify for the final by playing the Qualifier 2. Meanwhile, the third and fourth place teams from league phase play against each other in an eliminator match and the winner from that match will advance to play the Qualifier 2. The winner of this match will head to final to meet the winner of Qualifier 1, where the winner will be crowned champions.

Player acquisition and salaries

Teams can acquire a maximum and minimum players of 22 and 16 respectively.^[18] They are allowed to retain three players each from last season.^[19] Player draft takes place before every season and the players are placed in four categories on the basis of their experience.^[18][20]

The salary cap for the most experienced players (Category A) was ₹5 lakh (US$6,300) in 2016.^[13] In 2020, it was ₹6 lakh (US$7,500).^[20]

Until 2020, BCCI prevented TNCA from allowing outstation players to participate in the league.^[15][16][9] A maximum of 2 outstation players can be in a team given that they are not currently in any IPL team. A separate draft for outstation players happened after 2020 IPL season for TNPL season 5.^[21]

Sponsorship and revenues

The title sponsor from the inception was India Cements Limited whose term ended in 2019. In the first edition TNCA had earned a total of ₹33.51 crore in franchise rights. This was the highest among all the local T20 leagues in India.^[6] The business model followed by TNPL is similar to the IPL's model.^[22] For the first five years, central rights (broadcast fees and sponsorship fees) will be shared 80 per cent among the eight franchises with the rest going to the administrator TNCA.^[13] This excludes the match staging costs. As much as 65 per cent will be divided equally between the franchises with the rest 15 per cent given to the franchises as per their standing in the league.^[13] Gate collections are not shared with the franchises.^[22] To attract sponsors, owners were advised to name their teams after districts in the state.^[11]

In 2019, some of the franchises faced financial difficulties and asked TNCA to bring changes to the revenue sharing model of the league.^[22]

Prize money

The prize money split between the teams are:^[6][23]

• Champions – ₹1 crore (US$130,000)
• Runner up – ₹60 lakh (US$75,000)
• Two semi-finalists – ₹40 lakh (US$50,000) each
• Remaining participants – ₹25 lakh (US$31,000)

Current Teams

There are eight franchises competing in league.^[24] The franchises are named after a city it is representing in the state.^[11][6] Each team can have a maximum of 22 players that includes two outstation players.^[18][21]

Chepauk Super Gillies

Lyca Kovai Kings

Dindigul Dragons

Ba11sy Trichy

Tiruppur Tamizhans

Madurai Panthers

Salem Spartans

Nellai Royal Kings

Team locations

Defunct teams

Finals

Highest totals

Sources:^{[34][35][36][37]}

Highest individual scores

Sources:^{[38][39][40][41]}

Satellite Television Rights

Digital Rights

Financial difficulties

On 26 May 2019, several franchise owners under financial distress wrote to TNCA asking for changes made in the upcoming season. The leaked letter signed by teams Tuti Patriots, Lyca Kovai Kings, Siechem Madurai Panthers, Trichy Warriors and iDream Karaikudi Kaalai was confidential in nature.^[22][48] The franchise owners and TNCA were both upset about the leak of the letter which had caused negative image towards the league.^[48]

The main concerns in the letter were regarding the lack of outstation players' participation, quality of umpiring, unavailability of Tamil Nadu players who represent India and matches being held in relatively smaller venues.^[22][49] The franchises were also concerned over the viewership for the league and the television rating points. The league was criticised for not sharing the gate collections with the franchises, following IPL model.^[22] Unable to recover the expenses, franchises have reportedly suffered losses ranging from ₹15−25 crore. They suggested several changes for TNPL. They asked TNCA to allow outstation players and to ask Tamil Nadu players who represent India to take part in the league. They also demanded a better revenue sharing method to prevent losses of the franchises.^[49][50][22]

On 4 June 2019 in a meeting with the owners, TNCA's reacted to the issue saying that it shares 80 per cent of the telecast and sponsorship fees with the franchises and the association gains only a net ₹5 crore from TNPL after meeting all expenses.^[48] Some owners were unsatisfied with the response and demanded a forensic audit of TNPL's accounts.^[48]

Match-fixing allegations

In 2019, Tuti Patriots and Madurai Panthers faced match fixing allegations. BCCI president Sourav Ganguly had said that these franchises were suspended due to connection with bookies but TNCA said that they were not.^[51][50][52] However, TNCA has asked franchise Tuti Patriots to remove two of their co-owners in link to the corruption.^[53] In 2020, Tuti Patriots were renamed as Salem Spartans for the next season due to the change in ownership.^[26]