Indian Premier League (IPL) is now 17 years old as the first season was played in 2008. Since then, the league has gone through an increase in craze, creation of teams’ fan bases while some controversies such as spot-fixing, teams getting banned etc. However, despite all of this, the tournament has grown from strength to strength. It started with an eight-team tournament; it has now expanded to 10 teams.
Teams that have participated in the IPL
From 2008 to 2010, eight teams such as Rajasthan Royals, Chennai Super Kings, Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings), Delhi Daredevils (Delhi Capitals), Royal Challengers Bangalore, Deccan Chargers, Kolkata Knight Riders, and Mumbai Indians played in the tournament. However, in 2011, two teams such as Kochi Tuskers Kerala and Pune Warriors India joined the league.
Kochi didn’t survive for long as they went defunct in 2011 itself while Pune was defunct after the 2013 season. From 2014 to 2021, seven teams from the 2008 participated in the tournament while Deccan Chargers, who went defunct after 2012, were replaced by Sunrisers Hyderabad in 2013. Only after the 2021 season, IPL and BCCI decided to expand the tournament.
IPL is now a 10-team tournament
In 2022, two new teams, Gujarat Titans and Lucknow SuperGiants joined the league. Since the last three seasons, the tournament has become bigger and longer in terms of duration.
The Number One IPL Team
Well, this is a tough question to answer. As far as trophies are concerned, both Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians have won five IPL titles. The rest of the teams don’t even come close to CSK and MI. However, considering the fan base factor, CSK is considered the number one IPL team. Generally, an away team doesn’t enjoy the same support like the support they get at their home venues.. However, the CSK fan base ensures that they dominate the spectator count even in the Super Kings’ away matches during the tournament. In conclusion, CSK is the number one IPL team.