If you are crazy for your city’s team in the Indian Premier League (IPL), you must scream equally hard for your city’s football team in the Indian Super League (ISL)
The IPL is in full swing, and cricket fans, as usual, are leaving no seats vacant in the stadiums. However, the same cannot be said for the ISL, India’s top-tier football league, which is also in action parallelly.
It is understandable that the number of cricket fans in the nation is much higher than that of football fans. Not to mention, in ISL, there are several teams from other states that do not have an IPL team.
However, there are some cities that have both ISL and IPL teams. Therefore, if you scream for Chennai or Kolkata, you should show love to the football teams representing your city or state in football.
In the IPL, Kolkata is represented by the Kolkata Knight Riders, who have lifted three trophies since 2008.
While the IPL has one team from Kolkata, in the IPL, there are three teams that represent the city – Mohun Bagan Super Giant, East Bengal FC and Mohammedan FC.
For the record, Mohun Bagan is presently leading the ISL table.
Chennai needs no introduction in the IPL. Represented by the Chennai Super Kings, the team has five IPL titles alongside the Mumbai Indians.
In the ISL, Chennaiyin F.C. represents Chennai, which won the ISL in 2017.
Mumbai bleeds blue in the IPL, where the Mumbai Indians have lifted the trophy on five occasions. In the ISL, Mumbai City FC is owned by the City Football Group, the conglomerate that also owns Premier League football club Manchester City FC.
The IPL has Punjab Kings, a team that, unfortunately, has never lifted the trophy since 2008. This season, though, the team looks to be on the right path.
In ISL, it is Punjab FC whom you should cheer for. The team is in 10th place at the moment, having played 24 ISL games.
As we are well aware, Bengaluru is represented by Royal Challengers Bengaluru, a team that failed to live up to the expectations despite having a strong line-up of players.
On the other hand, Bengaluru FC has done well in the ISL, winning multiple titles. For the uninitiated, India’s football icon Sunil Chhetri plays for Bengaluru.
