Chennai Super Kings

In September 2007, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) announced the establishment of the Indian Premier League (IPL), a Twenty20 competition with the inaugural season planned for 2008. Chennai was one of the eight city-based franchises unveiled for the inaugural edition in January 2008.

The player auction for the inaugural IPL season took place in January 2008. Then captain of the Indian team MS Dhoni was bought by the Super Kings for $1.5 million, the most expensive buy at the auction. The franchise also bought international cricketers Suresh Raina, Matthew Hayden, Jacob Oram, Stephen Fleming, Muttiah Muralitharan and Michael Hussey in the inaugural auction. Ahead of the inaugural season, the franchise named Dhoni as the captain of the team and appointed Kepler Wessels as the head coach. The team played its first game in the IPL on 19 April 2008 against Punjab Kings (then Kings XI Punjab) at Mohali, which it won by 33 runs. The Super Kings finished the league stage in third place with eight wins from 14 games. In the semifinal, the franchise beat Kings XI Punjab by nine wickets to reach the maiden IPL final. In the final at Mumbai, Rajasthan Royals won the match off the last ball to defeat the Super Kings and lifted the first IPL title. By finishing as the runners-up in the IPL, the Super Kings qualified for the inaugural season of the Champions League Twenty20 (CLT20). The tournament was later cancelled as a consequence of the 2008 Mumbai attacks and the Super Kings was given $5 million as compensation from the BCCI for the same. Ahead of the 2009 season, Stephen Fleming took over as the head coach of the Super Kings. At the player auction, the franchise bought English all-rounder Andrew Flintoff for $1.55 million, making him the joint highest-paid cricketer in the IPL. Opening batter Hussey skipped the IPL season to focus on The Ashes. The Super Kings finished the league stage in second place with eight wins from 14 matches. In the semi-finals, the team lost to Royal Challengers Bangalore by six wickets. Super Kings opener Hayden won the Orange Cap as the leading run-scorer of the season with 572 runs.