The IPL (Indian Premier League), also known as DLF Indian Premier League, is a professional twenty-twenty cricket tournament created and promoted by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). The first season of the Indian Premier League debuted on 18th April 2008. The tournament ended on 1st June 2008 with the victory of the Rajasthan Royals against Chennai Super Kings in the final at the DY Patil Stadium, Navi Mumbai.

The confirmed schedule of the second season of Indian Premier League is yet to be announced. The format of the match will be same as that of the debut season. Each of the eight teams will play twice in a round robin system. The four teams that rank the top will progress to the semi-finals. The eight franchises of IPL are Bangalore Royal challengers, Kings XI Punjab, Chennai Super Kings, Kolkata Knight Riders, Deccan Chargers, Mumbai Indians, Rajasthan Royals and Delhi Daredevils.

The Indian Premier League has become one of the popular events of the year in India and also around the world. Based on the American style of hiring players and transfer, the IPL operates on a franchise-system. The eight franchises are put for auction, where the highest bidder wins the right to own the team, representing each city. There are basic five ways through which a franchise can acquire a player. They can acquire players in the annual auction, by buying domestic players, signing uncapped players, through trading or by buying replacements.

The players can be traded in the trading window only with his consent. Some of the team composition rules of the Indian Premier League are that each squad must have strength of 16 players plus one physiotherapist and a coach. In a squad there cannot be more than 10 foreign players and only four of them can be in the playing 11. In each team minimum of 8 local players must be included. Besides, a minimum of 2 players, under-22 from the BCCI should be included in each team.