Indian Premier League

In April 2007, Essel Group launched the Indian Cricket League (ICL) in partnership with IL&FS. The ICL was not recognized by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) or the International Cricket Council (ICC). Moreover, the BCCI was unhappy about its committee members joining the ICL executive board. In response, the BCCI increased the prize money for its domestic tournaments and imposed lifetime bans on players who joined the ICL, which it considered a rebel league.

On 13 September 2007, as the 2007 ICC World Twenty20 began, the BCCI launched the Indian Premier League, an annual franchise-based Twenty20 cricket competition. The inaugural season was scheduled to start in April 2008, commencing with a "high-profile ceremony" in New Delhi. BCCI vice-president Lalit Modi, who led the IPL initiative, provided details of the tournament, including its format, prize money, franchise revenue system, and squad composition rules. The league, to be managed by a seven-person governing council, would also serve as the qualifying mechanism for that year's Champions League Twenty20.

To determine team ownership, an auction for the franchises was held on 24 January 2008. The reserve prices for the eight franchises totalled $400 million, but the auction ultimately raised $723.59 million. The league officially commenced in April 2008, featuring Chennai Super Kings (CSK), Mumbai Indians (MI), Delhi Daredevils (DD), Kings XI Punjab (KXIP), Deccan Chargers (DC), Rajasthan Royals (RR), Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), and Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB).

In 2009, the BCCI and other national boards offered amnesty to rival ICL's players and officials, provided they terminated their contracts. The resulting player exodus and financial difficulties forced ICL to shut down later that year.

New franchises, Pune Warriors India and Kochi Tuskers Kerala, joined the league before the fourth season in 2011. The Sahara Adventure Sports Group purchased the Pune franchise for $370 million, while Rendezvous Sports World bought the Kochi franchise for $333.3 million. The Kochi franchise was terminated after just one season due to their failure to pay the BCCI the 10% bank guarantee element of the franchise fee.

In September 2012, the Deccan Chargers franchise agreement was terminated after the BCCI failed to find new owners. In October, an auction was held for a replacement franchise; Sun TV Network won the bid for what became the Hyderabad franchise; the team was named Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Pune Warriors India withdrew from the IPL in May 2013 due to financial differences with the BCCI. The BCCI officially terminated the franchise in October, and the league reverted to eight teams.

In June 2015, the two-time champions Chennai Super Kings and the inaugural season champions Rajasthan Royals were suspended for two seasons following their involvement in a spot-fixing and betting scandal. The two teams were replaced for two seasons by Rising Pune Supergiant and Gujarat Lions, based in Pune and Rajkot, respectively.

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the venue for the 2020 season was moved and games were played in the United Arab Emirates. In August 2021, the BCCI announced that two new franchises, based in two of six shortlisted cities, would join the league in the 2022 season. In closed bidding held in October, the RPSG Group and CVC Capital won the bids for the teams, paying ₹7,000 crore (US$830 million) and ₹5,200 crore (US$620 million), respectively. The teams were subsequently named Lucknow Super Giants and Gujarat Titans.

Several IPL franchise owners have expanded their business by acquiring teams in other franchise leagues, such as the West Indies' Caribbean Premier League (CPL), South Africa's SA20, the UAE's International League T20 (ILT20) and the USA's Major League Cricket (MLC).

In 2023, owners of three existing IPL teams - Mumbai Indians, Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bengaluru secured the rights for the homonymous franchises in the Women's Premier League.

In addition to these acquisitions, Delhi Capitals also bought a stake in MLC's Seattle Orcas.

In 2025, stakes in teams from The Hundred became available. RPSG Group (Lucknow Super Giants) bought a 70% stake in Manchester Originals for around £81m, while Reliance Industries (Mumbai Indians) bought a 49% stake in the Oval Invincibles for £60m. Yorkshire sold 100% of Northern Superchargers to Sun Group (Sunrisers Hyderabad) for £100m. The GMR Group (Delhi Capitals) had already acquired Hampshire in a 2024 deal, including the club's 51% stake in the Southern Brave and bought the remaining 49% for around £48m.