Which IPL team is the closest to Chelsea FC?
Chelsea FC, one of the legendary clubs in the English Premier League, have had a stellar run in the competition ever since its inception in the 1992-93 season. They have also been one of its most successful clubs.
Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), the Indian Premier League franchise, are a side that mirrors Chelsea the best when it comes to their philosophy, style of play and way of attacking opponents when it hurts them the most.
Chelsea have won the Premier League on five occasions as well as its predecessor the First Division Trophy once. KKR, on the other hand, have won the IPL on three occasions so far and look all set to add more.
The Blues have been renowned in English football for their attacking mindset and the philosophy of trying to buy some of the best players in the market and merge them with the most easily available homegrown talent.
Didier Drogba, Petr Cech, Michael Ballack, Arjen Robben, Fernando Torres, Eden Hazard, Cesc Fabregas, Romelu Lukaku, Olivier Giroud, and Thiago Silva are all good examples of the former while Frank Lampard and John Terry are English players Chelsea invested in when they were young and turned them into legends.
KKR too believe in acting along similar lines and like to invest most of their money on high-value players who can deliver the goods for them on a consistent basis. While this may seem controversial and self-serving to a lot, it has helped KKR immensely.
Chris Gayle, Brendon McCullum, Jacques Kallis, Ricky Ponting, Gautam Gambhir, Chris Lynn, and Mitchell Starc are but a few examples of this philosophy in which they try to pick the best players available in the auction. Rinku Singh, Shreyas Iyer, Suryakumar Yadav and Manish Pandey are, meanwhile, the players whom they converted into legends.
Chelsea and KKR have similar mindsets
Apart from the Gautam Gambhir years, KKR did not see a lot of stability at the top leadership, and the same - if not more - can be said about Chelsea. The latter are notorious for discarding head coaches indiscriminately.
Under former owner Roman Abramovich, Chelsea did away with all head coaches who failed to provide results immediately, with only some, such as Jose Mourinho, Claudio Ranieri, Glenn Hoddle, and Carlo Ancelotti spending a considerable amount of time at the club.
Both these teams have a similar all-out attack philosophy which helps them batter their opponents whenever the latter go inside their shells. The leadership operates in such a manner at both teams that believes in attack being the best form of defence.
KKR won the IPL earlier this year in spectacular fashion by beating favorites Sunrisers Hyderabad by following this philosophy, and although Chelsea are yet to win their sixth Premier League title, they do appear close enough to do so.
Chelsea like to make sure that they use their resources to the best they can, and the same can be said of KKR too. Both these teams like to ensure that they do not fall behind the times, and employ the best personnel to see them through crises.
Chelsea started their new Premier League campaign on a bitter note when they were beaten by the defending champions Manchester City on Sunday, August 19, but one can expect them to improve and put in better shifts in the matches to come.
KKR, for their part, will be keen to make sure that they add to the three IPL titles that they have in their kitty and give it their all to bring home the fourth in the 2025 edition, in which opposition teams will not bow down to them easily.