The Indian Premier League, created by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and sanctioned by the International Cricket Council (ICC), is a Twenty20 cricket competition. It is the brainchild of former BCCI vice-president Lalit Modi and is modelled along the lines of club football in Europe, which is unlike anything cricket had known in the past. The best players from around the world not play according to their nationality but as per the market forces.

The magnitude of the Indian Premier League was confirmed when the winning bidders for the eight franchises were announced on January 24, 2008. While the total base price for auction was US$400 million, the auction fetched US$723.59 million. The official list of franchise owners announced and the winning bids were as follows.

The original eight franchises were:

Bangalore - Vijay Mallya/UB group - $111.6 million
Chennai - India Cements - $91 million
Delhi - GMR group - $84 million
Hyderabad - Deccan Chronicle - $107 million
Jaipur - Emerging Media (Manoj Badale, Lachlan Murdoch, Suresh Chellaram and investors) - $67 million. Last season, Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty and Dubai-based businessman Raj Kundra picked up 12 per cent stake worth over $11.6 million in the Rajasthan Royals franchise team.
Kolkata - Shah Rukh Khan's Red Chillies Entertainment in partnership with Juhi Chawla and Jay Mehta - $75.09 million
Mohali - Preity Zinta, Ness Wadia (Bombay Dyeing), Karan Paul (Apeejay Surendera Group) and Dabur's Mohit Burman - $76 million
Mumbai - Mumbai Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries Limited - $111.9 million.

In 2011 two new teams joined the league - Sahara's Pune Warriors and Kochi Tuskers Kerala. For alleged breach of contract, the IPL terminated the latter and year 2012 will have nine teams competing.

WHEN IT ALL BEGAN

The first season of the Indian Premier League, also known as the DLF Indian Premier League, began on April 18, 2008, in Bangalore, and ended on June 1, 2008, with the victory of the Rajasthan Royals in the final at the DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai.

The second edition of the cash-rich event was conducted in South Africa and was won by Deccan Chargers.

The third edition returned to India and Chennai Super Kings led by MS Dhoni won the title. Dhoni, who came into the fourth season riding high on a World Cup win, successfully defended the title in 2011.

WINNERS

2008 Winner - Rajasthan Royals
Runner Up - Chennai Super Kings

2009 Winner - Deccan Chargers
Runner Up - Royal Challengers Bangalore

2010 Winner - Chennai Super Kings
Runner Up- Mumbai Indians

2011 Winner - Chennai Super Kings
Runner Up - Royal Challengers Bangalore