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Image- (Credit – ESPN)
Currently, the majority of Indian metropolitan cities are represented by not one but many sports franchises, ranging from the Indian Premier League (IPL) to the Indian Super League (ISL).
It all started with the Indian Premier League, when cricket turned into more than a game. IPL became a festival, a source of entertainment, and the amount of money it brought into the game changed the scenario of Indian cricket to a great extent. Therefore, other sports also joined the bandwagon, resulting in the formation of major domestic leagues such as the Indian Super League (football) and the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL).
There are other lesser-known leagues, too, such as the Ultimate Table Tennis, Pro Panja League, and many more. However, in this article, we take a look at the cities with the most trophies in the major or more popular leagues, such as the ISL, IPL, and PKL.
Mumbai leads the chart with eight trophies to its name. A formidable force in the Indian Premier League, the Mumbai Indians franchise has picked up five IPL trophies since the inception of the league. Moving on to ISL, Mumbai City FC, which is part of the City Football Group (owners of Manchester City), has one ISL trophy and one ISL league winners trophy. Lastly, in the Pro Kabaddi League, the U-Mumba team has one trophy.
Kolkata, or West Bengal, is synonymous with football, and therefore, it is no surprise that Kolkata leads the Indian Super League with four trophies to its name. The first three were won by ATK, whereas the fourth was won by Mohun Bagan Super Giant. In IPL, Shahrukh Khan's co-owned franchise, Kolkata Knight Riders, has two trophies, whereas the Bengal Warriors Pro Kabbadi franchise has one trophy, taking the city's total tally to six trophies.
With no team in the Pro Kabaddi League, Chennai only relies on the success of Chennai Super Kings (ISL) and Chennaiyin FC (ISL). Chennai Super Kings, led by Mahendra Singh Dhoni, have won three IPL trophies and are an arch-rival of the Mumbai Indians. On the other hand, Chennaiyin FC won two ISL trophies in 2015 and 2018, taking the total trophy tally to five.
Despite not having franchises in the IPL and ISL, Bihar's Patna still makes the cut with three trophies won by its kabaddi team, the Patna Pirates. Since 2014, Patna Pirate has been the most dominant team, winning the trophy three consecutive times in 2015, 2016, and 2017, which is an incredible record.
Bengaluru, Rajasthan, and Hyderabad—all three cities are levelled with two trophies across the three major leagues. Bengaluru City FC has one trophy in the ISL, whereas Bengaluru Bulls have one in the PKL.
Rajasthan has one IPL trophy, thanks to the Rajasthan Royals' first and only trophy in the inaugural edition of the IPL. In the Pro Kabaddi League, once again, it was the Jaipur Panthers who won the inaugural trophy in 2014.
Hyderabad has had two IPL teams – Deccan Chargers and Sunrisers Hyderabad. Both teams managed to win the IPL once, in 2009 and 2016, respectively. However, the city's ISL team, Hyderabad FC, and PKL team, Telugu Titans, are yet to open their respective accounts.
Goa remains at the bottom with only one trophy, thanks to Goa FC's one and only trophy in the ISL as league winners. The state of Goa has no franchise in the Indian Premier League or the Pro Kabaddi League.
Lastly, the capital city of Delhi is technically at the bottom, with zero trophies won across the three leagues, despite having three teams such as the Delhi Capitals (IPL), Delhi Dynamos (ISL – discontinued in 2019, rechristened as Odisha FC) and Dabang Delhi K.C. (PKL).
