Ranking IPL franchises based on their social media following

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is considered the best T20 league in the world. In 2008, its inaugural season was played with eight franchises contesting among one another. After the first edition of the tournament, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) succeeded in achieving the support of game enthusiasts. Witnessing the craze of the league among fans, the BCCI decided to conduct the league on a consistent basis. After the fifteen editions of the competition, the magic of the franchises can be assessed with the support of their fans on social media platforms. With smartphones and social media platforms, it has become easier for supporters to connect with their favourite franchises and players. In the age of the digital world, the presence of social media has played an important role in expanding the IPL franchises' fanbase. Ranking ten IPL franchises based on their social media supporters 10. Lucknow Super Giants Lucknow Super Giants. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) In the 2022 edition of the IPL, Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) made their debut along with Gujarat Titans (GT) and made the tournament even more competitive. Under the leadership of KL Rahul, the franchise had a good season as they featured among the top three teams in the league stage. However, the Super Giants will regret losing the eliminator game to Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) at iconic Eden Gardens. In the upcoming season, they will look forward to leaving their failures behind and have a successful second season with the guidance of their coach Andy Flower and meteor Gautam Gambhir. They also roped in the West Indies batter Nicholas Pooran for INR 16 crore at the mini-auction. With the major signing, the franchise’s supporters will expect the Caribbean batter to be efficient with his bat to win the maiden title. So far, LSG has achieved 1.3 million supporters on Instagram. While on Twitter and Facebook, the KL Rahul-led team has only 652K and 292K followers respectively. 9. Gujarat Titans Gujarat Titans Champions. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) In 2022, Gujarat Titans (GT) played their maiden season in the league and lifted the trophy. With a successful campaign, the Titans declared their domination and signaled to other franchises their presence for the next seasons. As a leader, Hardik Pandya powered the franchise with his leadership skills. Other players such as Shubman Gill, David Miller, Rashid Khan, and Mohammed Shami also played a crucial part in helping the franchise to have a marvellous debut edition. In the 2023 season of the league, the franchise will look to continue their form to retain the title. Despite showcasing a solid cricketing display last year, they have failed to amass support on social media sites. On Instagram, the franchise has only 1.8 million supporters followed by 4.7 K supporters on Facebook. On Twitter, the franchise got 399 k supporters. 8. Rajasthan Royals Rajasthan Royals. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) In the inaugural season of the cash-rich league, Rajasthan Royals (RR) won their maiden title under the late Shane Warne and showcased their best performance. Since then, the franchise played under different skippers such as Shane Watson, Steve Smith and Ajinkya Rahane, but no one has succeeded in winning another trophy. In 2015, the 2008 champions got suspended for two years as the Supreme Court found their officials guilty of illegally betting on matches. For the 2016-17 seasons, the franchise didn’t feature in the league due to the ban. In 2018, the franchise returned in the league and qualified for the playoffs but defeated Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the eliminator match. In 2022, the franchise made its way to the final of the tournament. However, they couldn’t show their best on the big day and lost to Hardik Pandy-led Gujarat Titans (GT). Speaking of the team’s fanbase on social media sites, the franchise has 2.7 million followers on Instagram, 2.5 million followers on Twitter, and the highest 5 million on Facebook. 7. Punjab Kings Punjab Kings. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) Punjab Kings (PBKS) could be considered the most unsuccessful team in the IPL. In the 15 seasons of the cash-rich league, they are the only franchise that have qualified for the playoffs twice. In 2008, Yuvraj Singh led the franchise and took it to the semi-final. However, in the knockout game against Chennai Super Kings (CSK), they floundered and faced an embarrassing defeat of nine wickets. In 2014, the franchise had an opportunity to win the prestigious trophy as they looked impressive throughout the tournament under the captaincy of George Bailey. Albeit, this time too, the franchise choked and ended up becoming the runners-up after getting handed a three-wicket loss. Since then, PBKS have not qualified for playoffs and delivered underwhelming performances in back-to-back seasons. Talking about their fanbase on social media sites, the official handle of the franchise has 8.4 million Facebook followers, 2.9 million supporters on Twitter, and 2.7 million followers on Instagram. 6. Sunrisers Hyderabad Sunrisers Hyderabad. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) After Deccan Chargers' termination in 2012 due to breaching contract terms, Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) emerged as a new franchise in the league. Making their debut under Kumar Sangakkara in the 2013 IPL, SRH showcased their ability ending in the fourth position. However, in the next two IPL seasons, they couldn’t perform up to the expectations and ended their journey in the league stage. In 2016, David Warner led from the front as a skipper and helped the team to achieve their maiden title. With the magnificent trophy win, both Warner and SRH won the hearts of league watchers. In 2022, SRH parted ways with Warner due to their disappointing performance in the 2021 edition of the IPL. In the upcoming edition of the cash-rich league, the franchise will look to win the second title and impress its supporters. Currently, SRH has the highest number of followers on Facebook with 6.2 million. On Instagram and Twitter too, the 2016 IPL champions have 3.3 million followers and 3.1 million supporters respectively. 5. Delhi Capitals Delhi Capitals. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) Delhi Capitals (DC) started their journey in the 2008 IPL and are yet to win the title. In the 2020 IPL held in the United Arab Emirates, they could’ve defeated Mumbai Indians (MI) and clinched the trophy. However, MI shattered DC’s dream on a grand day as they outclassed Iyer and his men using their experience of previous final games in the league. Earlier, the franchise played under the leadership of renowned players such as Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir but couldn’t win any titles. In 2009, they were outstanding in the league stage of the tournament becoming the table toppers. But in the semi-final match, the Capitals’ journey got derailed as they got thrashed by six wickets at the hands of Deccan Chargers, who went on to become the champions in that edition of the league. Currently, the reins of the team are in the hands of Rishabh Pant who is young and dynamic. This year, David Warner could be seen leading the side as Pant met with a car accident in December 2022. This year, the franchise’s fans will look forward to seeing their DC players grabbing the IPL trophy for the first time. In the present day, DC have 13.8 million supporters on social media platforms of which 8.1 Million are on Facebook, 3.3 million on Instagram, and 2.4 million on Twitter. 4. Kolkata Knight Riders Kolkata Knight Riders Piyush Chawla celebrates fall of Rahul Tripathi&#8217;s wicket. (Photo by Kuntal Chakrabarty/IANS) Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) are the third most successful team in the league with two IPL trophies. From 2008-10, the franchise looked dismal in the tournament becoming the only team to not reach the knockout stage after the initial three seasons of the league. Witnessing such below-par displays in back-to-back seasons, the franchise management showed faith in Gautam Gambhir to lead their team. In 2011, the Knight Riders crossed the league stage as they advanced to the playoff round and played the eliminator game against Mumbai Indians (MI). In the fifth edition of the competition, Gautam Gambhir displayed his leadership skills and won the maiden trophy for the franchise. In 2014, KKR became champions again as they stunned Punjab Kings (PBKS) in the intriguing final contest. In 2021, the franchise played its third final match in the tournament against Chennai Super kings (CSK), under the captaincy of the the-then English white-ball skipper Eoin Morgan. However, Morgan and his boys didn’t look phenomenal in the huge game as CSK registered a convincing triumph of 27 runs. Since 2022, Shreyas Iyer is holding the captaincy mantle of the KKR and in the upcoming IPL edition, he will look to get his hands on the IPL trophy and bring cheers to the franchise’s fans. Right now, the franchise enjoys the support of 24.5 million supporters on social media sites of which 16 million are on Facebook, 5.1 million on Twitter, and 3.4 million on Instagram. 3. Royal Challengers Bangalore Royal Challengers Bangalore. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) gets immense support from fans in the IPL. Despite not winning a single trophy, their fan following is larger than that of Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) who won the trophy in 2008 and 2016, respectively. On social media platforms, the franchise has the support of 25.5 million fans. Of all social media platforms, RCB has the largest number of supporters on Instagram (9.6 million). Discussing their fanbase on Twitter and Facebook, the franchise has got 6.4 million and 9.0 million, respectively. With these numbers, RCB is the third most followed team of the cash-rich league. This year, their loyal fans will expect the Royal Challengers to quench their thirst for winning an IPL trophy. So far, renowned cricketing personalities such as Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble, Daniel Vettori, and Virat Kohli led the franchise but couldn’t get a title. Last year, the team management assigned the captaincy task to the South African batter Faf du Plessis. 2. Mumbai Indians Mumbai Indians. (Photo Source: IPL/BCCI) Currently, Mumbai Indians (MI) is the most successful team in the tournament with five titles under their belt. Starting their journey in 2008, the franchise failed to leave any impact in the tournament ending up in the fifth position. In the 2009 edition, MI also looked ineffective as their journey ended in the league stage only. However, the franchise showed its power in 2010 as it became the runners-up in the tournament. In 2013, MI appointed young and energetic Rohit Sharma as their captain to fare well. Playing his role of the leader efficiently, Sharma won his franchise the maiden IPL title. After 2013, MI won trophies in 2015, 2017, 2019, and 2020 too. In 2022, they had their worst campaign as the team ended at the bottom of the table with only four wins in 14 games. During that difficult period too, MI fans didn’t lose hope and believed in their team to do well. So far, MI have accumulated 31.8 million followers on all their social media platforms. On Facebook and Instagram, the five-time IPL champions have received the support of 13 million and 10.9 million people respectively. While the franchise has 7.9 million followers on Twitter too. 1. Chennai Super Kings CSK practice session (Photo Source: Twitter) After Mumbai Indians (MI), Chennai Super Kings (CSK) are the second most successful team in the league. With four title victories under MS Dhoni, CSK is one of the most dangerous sides in the competition. In the maiden season of the IPL, the franchise displayed its class, becoming the runners-up under the captaincy of MS Dhoni. However, they started ruling the franchise league in 2010 when they hammered Mumbai Indians (MI) in the third installment of the tournament. In the fourth edition of the IPL too, MS Dhoni & Co. dominated as they defended the title successfully crushing Royal Challengers Bangalore in the final game. In 2015, the Super Kings were handed a two-year ban from the league for match-fixing and betting activities. After missing the 2016-17 editions, the franchise returned in the 2018 season and clinched its third trophy. In 2021, they beat the Eoin Morgan-led Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) and became the champions for the fourth time in the history of the league. Last year, they failed to retain the trophy. However, faithful CSK enthusiasts will expect the franchise to showcase its best in the upcoming tournament and add another trophy to their cabinet. So far, the four-time IPL champions have 32.6 million followers on social media sites, of which 12.5 million and 10.8 million are on Facebook and Instagram, respectively. Talking about their support on Twitter, there too, they have 9.3 million supporters.

Topics

Featured Section

Current Series

Cricket Fantasy Tips

Cricket Stats

IPL Teams

ICC Rankings

Interviews

Twitter Reactions

Cricket Appeal

Social Tracker

More Links

# Follow Us

Other Sports

Ranking IPL franchises based on their social media following

Find below the IPL teams with the most number of supporters on social media sites.

Latest Articles

West Indies vs England Match Preview, 3rd ODI

Afghanistan vs Bangladesh Match Preview, 1st ODI

5 Players with 5 crore salary but might go for base price