IPL franchisees and their English Premier League equivalents

The Indian Premier League has emerged to be to cricket what the English Premier League has been to football for a while now - the most glorified league in the sport. In its short history, the IPL has already drawn some extremely uncanny parallels to the EPL. The teams being compared have some astonishingly coincidental figures such as winning the titles in the exact same time frames. There are some freakishly similar parallels which are too good to be true. Without further ado, let's take a look at the EPL equivalents of IPL teams:

Chennai Super Kings - Manchester United

This is a fairly obvious parallel. Ravichandran Ashwin had once even stated on camera that he wanted the Super Kings to be the Manchester United of the IPL.

In its short ten year history, the Chennai Super Kings made the playoffs a whopping eight times. What makes this particular stat more impressive is that they did not even feature in the two seasons where they didn't make the playoffs! In EPL's longer twenty-five year history, Manchester United have lifted the trophy an incredible thirteen times. It's not hard to see how the two teams are similar in the way that they have dominated their respective leagues.

Mumbai Indians - Chelsea FC

The blue teams lifted the trophy on the same day in 2015

Chelsea F.C. did not even have a whiff at the title until the 13th season of the English Premier League in 2004. They went on to win that league, and that too in convincing fashion. They then went on to increase their title tally to five last season, making it their fifth crown in just thirteen years.

Their blue counterparts in the IPL, the Mumbai Indians failed to make the playoffs in the first two seasons. They then went on to snatch the title of most successful team in IPL history by winning three titles in the next eight seasons. Another evident parallel is that of billionaire owners Mukesh Ambani and Roman Abramovich.

Incredibly, Chelsea and Mumbai Indians both won their last two titles in 2015 and 2017, and that too just a few days apart. Captains Rohit Sharma and John Terry are the most successful captains of their respective leagues, albeit one leads from the front and the other led from the back.

Kolkata Knight Riders - Manchester City

Both teams lifted their maiden title in 2012

The similarities between these two are impeccable. Manchester City are what some often refer to as "new money". They were nowhere in the picture until the turn of the ongoing decade. New owners skyrocketed their spending and also consolidated their hold as one of the EPL superpowers. They won their only two titles in 2012 and 2014.

In exactly the same years, the Kolkata Knight Riders emulated the same feat in the IPL. They too won their only titles in 2012 and 2014. Much like the noisy neighbors of Manchester, the Knight Riders too were never really in the hunt until 2012.

With Manchester City having placed a hand and another four fingers on the title already, could the Kolkata Knight Riders be considering themselves blessed for the upcoming season?

Royal Challengers Bangalore - Arsenal

These dynamic duos have unfortunately not had their hands on a league trophy yet

The Royal Challengers Bangalore and Arsenal both have among the, if not the most loyal fan base in their respective leagues. Unfortunately for these fans, they also have a similar record in terms of their plight in the league.

Mesut Ozil and Alexis Sanchez used to be like the AB de Villiers and Virat Kohli of Arsenal. The Royal Challengers haven't won the prestigious trophy a single time despite having made three finals. Likewise, after their incredible invincibles season, the Gunners have failed to procure any trophies.

Rajasthan Royals - Leicester City

The Rajasthan Royals and Leicester City lifting their only trophy in history

The Rajasthan Royals and Leicester City are the most miraculous one-season wonders in their respective leagues. In a league dominated by the Manchester and London clubs, a team that had battled for relegation in just the previous season miraculously lifted the trophy in 2016.

The Rajasthan Royals did a similar feat in the IPL in its very first season, although it was nowhere as astonishing as the Leicester coup. The Royals, lead by Shane Warne, were a team filled with relatively unknown faces. They were the least favorite to win the inaugural IPL title. Shane Warne, hence referred to as 'the greatest captain Australia never had', led his side to an unforeseen IPL title. Since then, the Rajasthan have made the playoffs just twice. They haven't been close to challenging for the title, much like the Foxes from Leicester. Leicester City have never finished in the top six in any other season.

Kings XI Punjab - Liverpool

Despite having solid attacks, these teams are yet to lay their hands on the elusive league trophy

Liverpool more or less follow the 'dhoom punjabi' approach to football. Both teams are known for their gung-ho approach to their respective games. The team are all about the attack and less about the defense. Liverpool are notorious for their weak defenses and the Kings XI Punjab have a similar reputation with their bowling lineup. Both teams have the same motto of 'score more than you can concede'.

Both teams have failed to take home the title in the history of their leagues. Coincidentally, they have both come agonizingly close to the title in the same year, i.e. 2014. The Kings XI dominated the league only to lose to the Knight Riders in the finals. Liverpool too came really close to winning their first ever league title in the modern era, only to lose the title to Knight Riders' parallel in England, Manchester City.

Sunrisers Hyderabad - Tottenham Hotspurs

The Sunrisers are Spurs are both known to be reliant on their main men - David Warner and Harry Kane

There are very few better in their business than Harry Kane and David Warner. Harry Kane has won the golden boot laurel for two seasons in a row now, and is the favorite to bag his third one this season. David Warner has won the golden boot equivalent in the IPL, i.e. the orange cap award, twice in the last three years.

Both teams are known for their effective, smart management. The Spurs squad was built for an amount hardly anything compared to the hefty sums paid by their main competitors. Superstar midfielders Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen were both signed for next to nothing, and ace striker Harry Kane was actually signed for nothing. The Sunrisers too are known to pull off major coups in the auctions. The 2018 auction saw them pull off some terrific steals such as Shakib Al Hasan for INR 2 crores and Basil Thampi for INR 95 lakhs. They have unearthed brilliant talent such as Rashid Khan and Mohammad Siraj.

Delhi Daredevils - Newcastle United

Both teams will be looking to drastically improve on their league performances over the last decade

This parallel has got to hurt the Delhi fans. However, the Delhi Daredevils have been the most underwhelming team in IPL history. They topped the table on two separate occasions, but could not make it to the finals in either of those seasons. They sneaked in to the playoffs on one other occasion too. However, they have had the misfortune of having graced the bottom of the table on three separate occasions. Every other long-term franchisee has made the final at least once.

Newcastle United are one of the well known teams in the EPL owing to their glorious history and vehement fans. In the 21st century, they have finished in the top 4 twice, the last one being in 2003. Since then, things have gone downhill for the once decorated team. They found themselves in the relegation zone twice, which meant they were relegated to the championship. The Daredevils too would have suffered a similar fate had the concept of relegation existed in the IPL. Just like the Daredevils had a couple of one-off successful seasons, the Newcastle had a spectacular outing in the 2011-12 season, wherein they finished fifth in the league.