Indian Premier League
The Indian Premier League (IPL) is a professional Twenty20 cricket league in India contested during April and May of every year by teams representing Indian cities and some states. The league was founded by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in 2008, and is regarded as the brainchild of Lalit Modi, the founder and former commissioner of the league.
The IPL has developed into the most lucrative and most popular outlet for the game of cricket. Matches generally begin in late afternoon or evening so that at least a portion of them are played under floodlights at night to maximize the television audience for worldwide broadcasts.
The eight founding franchises were the Mumbai Indians, the Chennai Super Kings, the Royal Challengers Bangalore, the Deccan Chargers (based in Hyderabad), the Delhi Daredevils, the Punjab XI Kings (Mohali), the Kolkata Knight Riders, and the Rajasthan Royals (Jaipur).