You may have seen unique cricket team names in franchise cricket, such as those in the Indian Premier League (IPL), the world’s largest and most popular T20 cricket league. You have likely heard about the names of the teams participating in the IPL, and currently, as of the IPL 2025 season, there are 10 teams. Some of the few names among those 10 teams include Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, and Mumbai Indians.
Do you know how the IPL teams got their name? Perhaps your answer will be no. Don’t worry, as we are going to discuss the story behind the naming of some popular IPL teams. If you are interested in knowing the story, keep reading the post further.
The Story Behind the Naming of Some of the Popular IPL Teams
The teams we named above, i.e., Chennai Super Kings, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, and Mumbai Indians, are among those IPL franchises that have been playing in the IPL since the beginning of the IPL, and their names have been the same since the beginning. There are some other IPL teams than these that have been playing since the inaugural season, which are the Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals, but their names have been changed in the past as they were previously known as Kings XI Punjab and Delhi Daredevils, respectively.
How Chennai Super Kings Got Their Name?
Chennai Super Kings, which have won the coveted IPL trophy five times (as of IPL 2025), have been playing in the IPL since the very beginning. The team has been captained mostly by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who is regarded as one of the best Indian captains, as he is the only captain after Kapil Dev to lift the ODI World Cup in 2011.
Do you know the reason why the team has been named Chennai Super Kings? The first word, i.e., Chennai, is all because the team is representing Chennai city and their home stadium is Chepauk or M.A. Chidambaram Stadium. When we talk about the word “Super” in the name, which is commonly used as a descriptor in South India, and the Kings in the name is used to display the team’s pride and royalty as leaders of the sport. The name was not only given by the team owners, but it was also proposed by both the public and the team owners.
During an advertisement shoot, people of Chennai were invited to suggest a name for the Chennai IPL franchise, and from among the people’s suggestions, the Chennai Super Kings name was selected. The team not only gets the love of people, but all trusted betting sites, too, list this team at the top in the IPL cricket predictions.
Royal Challengers Bengaluru
The Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) is the most followed IPL franchise, which is also the current holder of the IPL trophy (IPL 2025). The IPL 2025 trophy was the first IPL trophy for the RCB in their 18 seasons, and before that, they came close to winning, but ended up as runners-up. It is Virat Kohli, a member of the RCB team, who makes this team more popular than other IPL teams. Just like Virat, RCB too has a huge fan following.
Not only Virat, but players like AB De Villiers and Chris Gayle, too, have been part of this team in the past. Let’s come to our main topic, which is how this team got the name Royal Challengers Bengaluru. The first two words, i.e., Royal Challengers, were taken from the Royal Challenge whisky brand, which was owned by the company that founded the team. The Bengaluru word in the name is to reflect the city. The team was previously called Royal Challengers Bangalore, but in the 2024 season, the Bangalore word was changed to Bengaluru to reflect the city’s official renaming.
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Mumbai Indians
The Mumbai Indians are the richest IPL team, just like the city of Mumbai, which is also the richest city in India, where India’s richest people live. Just like the Chennai Super Kings, the Mumbai Indians, too, have lifted the IPL trophy five times since the beginning of the Indian Premier League. Sachin Tendulkar, the greatest ever Indian cricketer, had played for this franchise in the past. Presently, Tendulkar is associated with the team as a mentor.
When we talk about how they got the name Mumbai Indians, so it was Sachin Tendulkar who suggested this name to the owners; otherwise, the team owners had chosen the name Mumbai Razors. Tendulkar suggested this name as Indians in the name that emphasizes that Mumbai is a city for all Indians, conveying a message of unity.
This is how some of the popular Indian Premier League franchises got their name. We hope the information provided here has cleared all your doubts regarding the naming of the popular IPL teams. Share your thoughts and suggestions in the comments.