Salem Spartans

In July 2015, the R M Lodha committee appointed by the Supreme Court, suspended the Chennai based Indian Premier League franchise Chennai Super Kings for a period of two years due to the association of their owners with illegal betting. As a result of the ban, there was no major competitive T20 cricket that was played in the state. The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) introduced plans for T20 cricket league for the Chennai first-division league teams to be played in May 2016. Following the same, the TNCA announced the inaugural edition of the Tamil Nadu Premier League (TNPL). The league was aimed to make up for the absence of major T20 matches in the state that year and to serve as a platform for local players from the state.

The TNPL was proposed as an eight team event contested by city-based franchise teams. On 1 May 2016, the TNCA invited bidders for the franchise rights with the base price set at ₹12.5 million (US$150,000). About 17 bidders participated in the bidding process and the eight franchises were unveiled later by the TNCA. The franchise rights for the eight team were sold for ₹335.1 million (US$4.0 million) with the highest bid at ₹52.1 million (US$620,000).

In June 2016, the TNCA announced that the first season would consist of 27 matches to be played in August–September across three cities Chennai, Tirunelveli, and Dindigul with the player draft to be held in July. The player draft was held in Chennai on 30 July. On 16 August 2016, the first edition of the league was inaugurated by MS Dhoni and was played from 24 August to 18 September. The first edition featured international cricketers and other domestic cricketers registered with the TNCA.