Naff IPL Team Names

[zaremba]

What is it with the names of the IPL franchises?

"Kolkata Knight Riders" is, in its own way, the weirdest. Do they have a German-style fascination with David Hasselhoff?

But more worrying still, why the fixation with royalty? Out of 8 franchises, 5 claim some kind of royal connection:

• the King's XI
• the Super Kings
• the Royal Challengers
• the Royals
• Wikipedia informs me that the Knight Riders' team tagline is "All the King's Men".

I find all this very weird. Maybe I just know too little about Indian culture.

Sorry if this topic has already been done to death. But I'd be really interested to know if others (Indians especially) share my bafflement at the choice of team names.

 

[Athlai]

I've grown to like the Knight Riders.

Way too many royal names though, FFS was it that hard to think of different names? Even something like Empire or Dominion wouldn't have been as bad as everything being 'Royal'

 

[biased indian]

What is it with the names of the IPL franchises?

"Kolkata Knight Riders" is, in its own way, the weirdest. Do they have a German-style fascination with David Hasselhoff?

But more worrying still, why the fixation with royalty? Out of 8 franchises, 5 claim some kind of royal connection:

• the King's XI
• the Super Kings
• the Royal Challengers
• the Royals
• Wikipedia informs me that the Knight Riders' team tagline is "All the King's Men".

I find all this very weird. Maybe I just know too little about Indian culture.

Sorry if this topic has already been done to death. But I'd be really interested to know if others (Indians especially) share my bafflement at the choice of team names.

the owner sharukh of KKR is know as king Khan ...it might have to do some thing with that

 

[masterblaster]

I've grown to like the Knight Riders.

Way too many royal names though, FFS was it that hard to think of different names? Even something like Empire or Dominion wouldn't have been as bad as everything being 'Royal'

Agree with this. Too many teams with 'Royal' or 'King' in it. Lets see, Kings XI Punjab, Chennai Superkings, Bangalore Royal Challengers, Rajasthan Royals. They really should've picked names which were different.

 

[Uppercut]

There's a formula for naming teams. It's the same one I use when naming my fantasy football sides. You take the name of the place where the team is from and follow it with a mildly unusual war-related term, if need be one completely invented by turning a noun into a verb. Hence such wonders of the modern world as:

• The Armagh Hatchetmen
• The Derry Machinegunners
• The Manchester Thumpers
• The Aberdeen Axewielders

were born. Unfortunately, someone in India obviously picked up my tactic, failed to notice that it's probably the worst method of naming teams ever, and thought it would be a good idea to use it for the IPL. Hence such shockers as:

• The Deccan Chargers
• The Bangalore Royal Challengers
• The Kolkata Knight Riders
• The Delhi Daredevils

are now polluting the world.

So to answer your question, it is in fact entirely my fault, and I wholeheartedly apologise for creating a monster.

 

[G.I.Joe]

Tamil Nadu has been a land of kings and the people feel an affinity for their achievements, that was the reasoning behind Chennai naming their franchise so. Justified, imo.

Vijay Mallya of Kingfisher owns the Bangalore Royal Challengers, and 'Royal' is a brand name he owns and uses for many of his products. Perfectly valid and well reasoned branding.


Rajasthan and Punjab are the weird ones imo. I've never associated Punjab with kings, not any significant ones in any case, although I might be wrong on that count. Wannabes imo.

Its the 'Rajasthan' part of the Rajasthan Royals that grinds my gears. There were precisely two players actually from Rajasthan in their squad last year, and only one of them played any games for them. The most ridiculous grouping of players into a team ever.

Re: Knight Riders. I have an inkling SRK might have let his son name his team, its not the sort of name a grown up would come up with. The juvenility of the branding gives me a chuckle. Its actually a name my buddies and me were considering for our little scouts group in school a long time back, before we finally settled for the Holmes inspired 'Silver Blaze'

 

[Arjun]

Long ago, Shashi Tharoor, the noted writer and columnist, said that he didn't approve of the names of the teams, since they keep going back to the time of royalty and kings. The days of royals and kings are gone, so there's no need to go back there. Not surprisingly, he's written off names like Royals, Royal Challengers, Kings and Super Kings. He's also not too pleased with the 'step back to feudal reign' with the Knight Riders. He's pleased with Deccan Chargers and Delhi Daredevils, but wished Mumbai had a better name than Indians.

I'd say that Rajasthan Royals (the name) is just right. After all, Rajasthan is a state known for its rich royal heritage and wonderful forts, which are now tourist destinations. Bangalore's Royal Challengers is a laughable attempt at brand promotion, though Vijay Mallya, owner of Force India F1, could have named it Force XI Bangalore instead. Chennai Super Kings is an appropriate name, but those kings were not too famous, and Chennai is now known more for its automobile, machinery and IT enterprises. Kolkata could have taken on 'Tigers' to refer to the Bengal Tiger, but that was already taken by another team from that rebel league.

Mumbai Indians, it seems, was invented so that they try to distinguish themselves from a football or basketball team. That's a very weird statement. My Dad said it's a statement to counter the regionalistic vigilantes in saffron, green and blue colours running riot over regional causes in Mumbai. I thought it's just their own way of indicating that they're the most Indian team around, unlike some others, who depend totally on foreign power.

Kings XI Punjab is one to snore through. Is that the only thing they're known for? What about Punjabi arts? The famous hydel power plant? Delhi Daredevils, though, is one name that we all like, since it's not too 'royal', and was influenced by Sehwag's dashing, dizzying batting. Deccan Chargers may be the best name among the teams, though jokes about it being something to get a mobile phone back on track still exist. My own take on Kolkata Knightriders would be not so much promotion of a new TV show never shown in India (not to be confused with its classic namesake that has been shown here very often), as much as another influence. The team in BLACK uniforms are called the KNIGHTriders (never mind one letter too many), and their theme tune sounds a lot like that Deep Purple song.

Ideal IPL names

• Chennai Sparkplugs/Chennai Pistons- A nod to the auto industry here
• Deccan Chargers- Nothing wrong with the name
• Force XI Bangalore- A nod to Vijay Mallya's other team
• Kolkata Knights- Not too far away, not too bad, though there are other options
• Rajasthan Royals- As said, royal heritage
• Punjab Torrents- Maybe the torrent in the rivers
• Delhi Daredevils- No problem
• Delhi Sultans- This should be the Ranji team's name
• Mumbai Blades- Their symbol looks like a wheelblade, so why not the name?
• Mumbai Lions- This is another alternative, a nod to Mumbai's Ranji mascot

 

[Arjun]

Its the 'Rajasthan' part of the Rajasthan Royals that grinds my gears. There were precisely two players actually from Rajasthan in their squad last year, and only one of them played any games for them. The most ridiculous grouping of players into a team ever.

Frankly, the very idea of Rajasthan having a team was baffling. There are no Rajasthan players who'll even make a Central team, bar Pankaj Singh, and Rajasthan has a team! Not surprisingly, they picked up more players from catchment areas Baroda, Gujarat and Saurashtra as well as a few outside, but barely anyone from Rajasthan! It was, however, not surprising, because Lalit Modi, the big boss of the IPL, hails from Rajasthan, and wanted a fan base there. I'd prefer Baroda Bulls to this. And you?

 

[G.I.Joe]

Long ago, Shashi Tharoor, the noted writer and columnist, said that he didn't approve of the names of the teams, since they keep going back to the time of royalty and kings. The days of royals and kings are gone, so there's no need to go back there. Not surprisingly, he's written off names like Royals, Royal Challengers, Kings and Super Kings. He's also not too pleased with the 'step back to feudal reign' with the Knight Riders. He's pleased with Deccan Chargers and Delhi Daredevils, but wished Mumbai had a better name than Indians.

I'd say that Rajasthan Royals (the name) is just right. After all, Rajasthan is a state known for its rich royal heritage and wonderful forts, which are now tourist destinations. Bangalore's Royal Challengers is a laughable attempt at brand promotion, though Vijay Mallya, owner of Force India F1, could have named it Force XI Bangalore instead. Chennai Super Kings is an appropriate name, but those kings were not too famous, and Chennai is now known more for its automobile, machinery and IT enterprises. Kolkata could have taken on 'Tigers' to refer to the Bengal Tiger, but that was already taken by another team from that rebel league.

Mumbai Indians, it seems, was invented so that they try to distinguish themselves from a football or basketball team. That's a very weird statement. My Dad said it's a statement to counter the regionalistic vigilantes in saffron, green and blue colours running riot over regional causes in Mumbai. I thought it's just their own way of indicating that they're the most Indian team around, unlike some others, who depend totally on foreign power.

Kings XI Punjab is one to snore through. Is that the only thing they're known for? What about Punjabi arts? The famous hydel power plant? Delhi Daredevils, though, is one name that we all like, since it's not too 'royal', and was influenced by Sehwag's dashing, dizzying batting. Deccan Chargers may be the best name among the teams, though jokes about it being something to get a mobile phone back on track still exist. My own take on Kolkata Knightriders would be not so much promotion of a new TV show never shown in India (not to be confused with its classic namesake that has been shown here very often), as much as another influence. The team in BLACK uniforms are called the KNIGHTriders (never mind one letter too many), and their theme tune sounds a lot like that Deep Purple song.

Ideal IPL names

• Chennai Sparkplugs/Chennai Pistons- A nod to the auto industry here
• Deccan Chargers- Nothing wrong with the name
• Force XI Bangalore- A nod to Vijay Mallya's other team
• Kolkata Knights- Not too far away, not too bad, though there are other options
• Rajasthan Royals- As said, royal heritage
• Punjab Torrents- Maybe the torrent in the rivers
• Delhi Daredevils- No problem
• Delhi Sultans- This should be the Ranji team's name
• Mumbai Blades- Their symbol looks like a wheelblade, so why not the name?
• Mumbai Lions- This is another alternative, a nod to Mumbai's Ranji mascot

I'd disagree with the notion that the Tamil kings were not too famous. They cannot be blamed for a disinclination on the part of the other states to educate themselves on Tamil history. They have left arguably the richest cultural legacies of all the Indian dynasties.

It baffles me that logic behind the Mumbai Indians naming themselves so has been missed by so many. Its an obvious attempt at positioning themselves as the Indian counterpart of the New York Yankees.

 

[G.I.Joe]

Frankly, the very idea of Rajasthan having a team was baffling. There are no Rajasthan players who'll even make a Central team, bar Pankaj Singh, and Rajasthan has a team! Not surprisingly, they picked up more players from catchment areas Baroda, Gujarat and Saurashtra as well as a few outside, but barely anyone from Rajasthan! It was, however, not surprising, because Lalit Modi, the big boss of the IPL, hails from Rajasthan, and wanted a fan base there. I'd prefer Baroda Bulls to this. And you?

You've nailed it spot on, Arjun. Baroda would be the most suitable base for them. When the IPL franchise bases were released in 2007, I remember wondering how Jaipur made the cut ahead of the likes of Ahmedabad, Baroda or Pune, especially considering that Gujarat and Maharashtra have 3 teams each in the Ranji Trophy, implying broad catchment areas enough to support multiple franchises in the IPL.

 

[Arjun]

Yankees (or Yanks) is a nickname, which may be derisive. It's a bit surprising that they'd name themselves like a baseball team, when they clearly mentioned that they wouldn't adopt any such name- not football, not basketball, not ice hockey- basically, not American.

There's a lot more to the state of Tamil Nadu than the kings of the past. They're a very modern, progressive state, and the name should reflect that. Let other states battle it out with royal, king-size names.

 

[Arjun]

You've nailed it spot on, Arjun. Baroda would be the most suitable base for them. When the IPL franchise bases were released in 2007, I remember wondering how Jaipur made the cut ahead of the likes of Ahmedabad, Baroda or Pune, especially considering that Gujarat and Maharashtra have 3 teams each in the Ranji Trophy, implying broad catchment areas enough to support multiple franchises in the IPL.

There was a plan to get new franchises for the forthcoming IPL. I wonder what happened to that. Baroda and Lucknow would surely be contenders. Frankly, they've more or less covered all the power centres in Indian domestic cricket, but Rajasthan isn't one.

 

[G.I.Joe]

There was a plan to get new franchises for the forthcoming IPL. I wonder what happened to that. Baroda and Lucknow would surely be contenders. Frankly, they've more or less covered all the power centres in Indian domestic cricket, but Rajasthan isn't one.

I agree. Anil Ambani lost out to Mukesh in the race for Mumbai, and there were reports last year that he was keen on netting an Ahmedabad franchise for himself when the IPL expansion took place. Modi had planned the expansion in the third year of operations, but considering the economic recession and the Rajasthan Royals' possible relocation to Ahmedabad, the latter ironically a consequence of Lalit Modi's recent travails, Anil Ambani and the other potential franchisees will have to wait and watch.

 

[pasag]

Chennai Sparkplugs

 

[Matt79]

Yeah, even if you wanted to reference cars, surely there are better names than that. The Chennai Hot Rods? The Chennai Racers? The Chennai Mo-Peds?

Disappointed at the lack of animal names tbh. The Tigers, The Elephants, the Falcons, etc. Animal names always make for the best nicknames.

 

[Furball]

Kolkatta have the gunnest name of all the franchises IMO.

 

[duffer]

Most of the names apart from Bangalore which is just flagrant self promotion have a certain innocent charm about them. Bit hilarious to call them naff when you fail to recognise that their target market in India probably think the names are cool. In fact I was in India during the IPL last year and most people I know loved the names.

 

[Jono]

The word 'naff' is weird. Just as bad as the IPL names.

 

[Athlai]

Kings XI, Royal Challengers, and Knight Riders can all stay IMO.

Super Kings and Royals not so much.

 

[vic_orthdox]

Mumbai Indians not getting enough mentions in here, for mine.

Heard Victoria were going to call themselves "The Victorian Australians" before deciding on Bushrangers, back in 94/95.