Celebrity Cricket League or CCL is a popular exhibition T20 cricket tournament featuring teams owned by actors from various regional film industries across India. Founded in the year 2011, CCL combines cricket with entertainment by bringing together stars from Bollywood and regional film industries like Tollywood, Kollywood and others. Bollywood star Salman Khan is the brand ambassador of CCL since its inception in 2011.
A total of 8 teams participate in the tournament. The matches are played in various venues across India and broadcasted on Sony sports channel, with live-streaming on Disney + Hotstar. CCL has completed 11 seasons till date.
| Season | Year | Winning Team |
| 1 | 2011 | Chennai Rhinos |
| 2 | 2012 | Chennai Rhinos |
| 3 | 2013 | Karnataka Bulldozers |
| 4 | 2014 | Karnataka Bulldozers |
| 5 | 2015 | Telugu Warriors |
| 6 | 2016 | Telugu Warriors |
| 7 | 2017 | Telugu Warriors |
| 8 | 2019 | Mumbai Heroes |
| 9 | 2023 | Telugu Warriors |
| 10 | 2024 | Bengal Tigers |
| 11 | 2025 | Punjab De Sher |
Celebrity Cricket League Season 1 Winner- Chennai Rhinos
Inaugural season of Celebrity Cricket League was organised in the year 2011. Participating teams were Chennai Rhinos, Telugu Warriors, Mumbai Heroes and Karnataka Bulldozers. The theme of the opening season was focused on anti-piracy awareness. Chennai Rhinos emerged as the winner of the inaugural season by defeating Karnataka Bulldozers in a griping final.
Celebrity Cricket League Season 2 Winner- Chennai Rhinos
Celebrity Cricket League Season 2 stretched for a month from 13th January to 13th February 2012. This season witnessed the entry of two new teams, namely Bengal Tigers and Kerala Strikers. Mumbai Heroes, the team representing Bollywood, picked Sharjah as its home ground.
The final match was a rerun of season 1. Chennai Rhinos defeated Karnataka Bulldozers to claim its second consecutive title. Karnataka Bulldozers emerged as the runner up yet again.
Celebrity Cricket League Season 3 Winner- Karnataka Bulldozers
Curtain raiser event for CCL Season 3 was organised in Mumbai on 19th January 2013. It was a gala event, featuring performances by multiple film stars like Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Bipasha Basu and others. Two new teams, Bhojpuri Dabbangs representing the Bhojpuri film industry and Veer Marathi representing the Marathi film industry, entered the tournament, thereby taking the team tally to 8. Bipasha Basu and Kajal Aggarwal were the brand ambassadors of CCL 3.
Opening match was played between Kerala Strikers and Mumbai Heroes on 9th February 2013. Karnataka Bulldozers overcame its final jinx to win the title, while Telugu Warriors finished as the runner up.
Celebrity Cricket League Season 4 Winner- Karnataka Bulldozers
Celebrity Cricket League Season 4 reached a wider audience because Colors TV became the broadcast partner for Mumbai Heroes, while Rishtey TV live telecasted all the matches. No new teams were added in this season. Karnataka Bulldozers qualified for its fourth consecutive final and retained its title. Kerala Strikers finished as the runner up.
Celebrity Cricket League Season 5 Winner- Telugu Warriors
Celebrity Cricket League Season 5 garnered a record viewership and became the second most-watched sporting league in India. This was mainly due to its broadcast partners Colors TV catering to the Hindi audience and Sun TV for the audience in South India. The league did well in terms of revenues as well.
Telugu Warriors won its maiden title. Two- time champions Chennai Rhinos played its third final but failed to win the trophy for the third time.
Celebrity Cricket League Season 6 Winner- Telugu Warriors
Celebrity Cricket League Season 6 witnessed the inclusion of a new team, Punjab De Sher, representing the Punjabi film industry. The total number of teams remained 8 since Veer Marathi exited the league. Navraj Hans and Mr. Puneet were the owners of Punjab De Sher. While actor Sonu Sood led the team, its brand ambassador was singer Daler Mehndi.
Telugu Warriors retained the trophy by defeating Karnataka Bulldozers in the final match. Karnataka Bulldozers failed to win its third title.
Celebrity Cricket League Season 7 Winner- Telugu Warriors
Celebrity Cricket League Season 7 saw the introduction of T10 format. The number of participating teams dropped to 6 in this season. Telugu Warriors won its third straight title by besting Kerala Strikers in the final.
Celebrity Cricket League Season 8 Winner- Mumbai Heroes
Celebrity Cricket League returned after a gap of one year in the form of 8th season in 2019. The number of participating teams remained at 6. Mumbai Heroes stopped the winning juggernaut of Telugu Warriors by claiming its maiden CCL title.
Mumbai Heroes won the league by defeating Karnataka Bulldozers in the final match.
Celebrity Cricket League Season 9 Winner- Telugu Warriors
Celebrity Cricket League Season 9 was organised in the year 2023 after a long gap of 4 years. Telugu Warriors reclaimed the title by defeating Bhojpuri Dabbangs in the final match. Consequently, Telugu Warriors became the most successful team of the league, bagging 4 CCL titles.
Celebrity Cricket League Season 10 Winner- Bengal Tigers
Celebrity Cricket League Season 10 opened with a grand ceremony held near the iconic Bhurj Khalifa in Dubai. The first match was played at the Sharjah Stadium in UAE. Five teams matched each other perfectly by winning three out of four matches each. However, Telugu Warriors failed to reach the semis due to lower net run rate.
Bengal Tigers won its maiden CCL title by defeating Karnataka Bulldozers in the final match.
Celebrity Cricket League Season 11 Winner- Punjab De Sher
Celebrity Cricket League Season 11 witnessed the participation of seven teams because Kerala Strikers withdrew. Chennai Rhinos were set to withdraw from the season due to financial reasons. However, following actor Sudeep’s request, the team continued in the tournament.
Bengal Tigers dominated the league stage by winning all their four matches. Karnataka Bulldozers performed well, winning three of their four matches. However, Punjab De Sher emerged as ultimate victor, defeating Chennai Rhinos in the final to clinch its maiden CCL trophy.
Conclusion
Celebrity Cricket League promotes unity among India’s diverse film sectors and supports charitable causes. Telugu Warriors is the most successful team of the league, with four titles to its credit.