Which IPL team is the most like Liverpool FC?
The Indian Premier League (IPL) and English Premier League (EPL) are the most successful tournaments in their respective sports. This is due to the huge amount of money pumped in the system, sponsorship deals, viewership and the fan-following of their favorite teams.
Although IPL began its journey in 2008, compared to EPL's 1992, the world's biggest sporting league has seen a sensational rise in their revenue, team's valuations and salary structure of the players. Moreover, with the participation of the majority of top T20 stars all around, the league has delivered on the promise of delivering high-quality games.
One such team, Liverpool, have played a key role in taking the EPL's popularity to greater heights. As per reports, they are the most-watched football team in the past five seasons. Similarly, IPL's Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) games record the highest viewership during the season and have helped IPL build a roubust brand.
Let's take a look at why RCB has similarities to Liverpool in a hypothetical cross-sport scenario.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru have unwavering fan support like Liverpool FC
Both the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) and the Liverpool FC have a huge fan following on social media, which is felt on the ground as well.
The loyal fans of the Bengaluru franchise create an electric atmosphere at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, with consistent chants of 'RCB, RCB'. Whenever, the team is performing well, supporters usually come up with phrase, 'Ee Sala Cup Namde', signifying the team's optimism to win the title that year.
On the other hand, the home of Liverpool, Anfield stadium is filled with excitement during the matchday with the chorus of “You’ll Never Walk Alone" before the game, which unites thousands of supporters.
Despite RCB failing to win their maiden IPL title until the 2024 season, they have received huge support whenever they have taken the ground. The franchise came very close to win the championship in 2009 and 2016, but fell short by a whisker. Their lackluster performance can be partly credited to a lack of balance in the squad and inconsistent performances from a few of their players.
Similarly, Liverpool fans ended their 30-year wait for winning the Premier League title in 2019-20. It was due to their lack of squad depth, injuries and bad management. But, somehow, the fans supported the team through thick and thin to motivate them through all these years.
Legacy defining players - Virat Kohli and Steven Gerrard
The common fanbase of the Royal Challengers Bengaluru and the Liverpool FC would surely correlate Virat Kohli and Steven Gerrard. Both players maintained loyalty with their teams, despite them having a mediocre set of players, who weren't helping the team gain championship success.
Although, Gerrard got his hands on Champions League and FA Cup silverware, he failed to win the Premier League title. He scored 186 goals for Liverpool during his 17-year senior career, and ended as one of the most legendary mid-fielders in Premier League history.
Meanwhile, RCB's biggest superstar, Kohli is the finest batter in IPL history with 8,004 runs in 252 appearances, while hitting eight centuries. He also holds the record for scoring most runs in a single IPL season - 973 runs in 2016. Despite the franchise being inconsistent with their finishes in the tournament, he is a revered figure among the cricket fans across the globe.