Which is the Most Popular Team in IPL

Most Loved IPL Team

Chennai Super Kings (CSK) is the joint most successful team in the IPL also winning five titles; all under India’s legendary skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni. CSK is IPL’s most fan-following team with a fan base of almost 40 million on social media and is the only IPL team to have over 10 million X subscribers. CSK’s massive passionate fanbase also makes it the IPL's most famous team. The team is owned by India Cements.

CSK has entered the playoffs on 12 occasions out of the 14 seasons they have participated with captain Dhoni adored by the Chennai crowd as “thala” which translates to ‘leader’ from the Tamil language. In 2007, Dhoni led the Indian team to the first-ever T20 World Cup title and was appointed the skipper of the CSK side in the first season itself. He led the team to victory in the 2022 season as well and has continued to participate in the IPL despite playing his last international game back in 2019.

CSK’s brand value in 2023 is the second highest among IPL teams with USD 80.6 million.

The Bangalore-based franchise Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) has also been part of the IPL since the first season back in 2008. RCB is one the most famous teams in IPL. It is the highest followed IPL team on social media that has failed to win a single trophy but has immense popularity due to its former and current players mainly Virat Kohli who is one of the modern greats amongst formats and is also the top athletes with the most number of followers on social media.

The team was led by Faf du Plessis in the 2023 season who took over the reigns from Virat Kohli. The team also had the services of superstars like AB de Villiers, Chris Gayle, Zaheer Khan, Anil Kumble, Daniel Vettori, Dale Steyn, Kevin Pietersen, Yuvraj Singh, Tillakaratne Dilshan, Aaron Finch, Shane Watson, Mitchell Starc, KL Rahul etc. RCB also had actors like Katrina Kaif, Deepika Padukone, Ramya, Puneeth Rajkumar, Shiva Rajkumar, Upendra, Ganesh, etc. as their brand ambassadors grabbing eyeballs from their respective fans as well.

RCB’s brand value is third in IPL at USD 69.8 million in December 2023.

Another franchise that enjoys tremendous love from the fans is Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), co-owned by Bollywood superstars Shah Rukh Khan, Juhi Chawla and Chawla’s husband Jay Mehta. Based in Kolkata, the team has Eden Gardens as its home ground KKR is one of the most loved IPL teams. The city has a rich history and love for the game and has followed the team since day one when Brendon McCullum in the first-ever IPL game smashed an unbeaten 158 off 73 deliveries and created history.

The team got the head start under the captaincy of Sourav Ganguly and had players like Shoaib Akhtar, McCullum, Ricky Ponting, etc. in the first few seasons. The team’s theme song “Korbo Lorbo Jeetbo” was immensely popular and still remains the tagline of the team.
The team’s ownership group also owns various other teams in cricket leagues around the world such as the Caribbean Premier League (Trinbago Knight Riders), Abu Dhabi Knight Riders (International League T20) and Los Angeles Knight Riders (Major League Cricket).

The KKR brand value is USD 78.6 million in December 2023.

Punjab Kings (PBKS), formerly known as Kings XI Punjab, is one of the most famous IPL teams. Though the team has never won an IPL trophy, but it is one of the most followed teams. It is co-owned by Mohit Burman, Ness Wadia, Karan Paul and Bollywood actress Preity Zinta. PBKS is one of the two current teams who have changed their name in the tournament with Delhi Daredevils now known as Delhi Capitals.