The Indian Premier League begins in Ahmedabad Friday and there will be no shortage of fireworks or glamour as the world's top cricketers slug it out for two months.
While cricket remains at the centre of the whole show, IPL is ultimately a visual spectacle. And the first thing that fans gravitate towards is the play, the players, and their colourful kits.
IPL franchises have strived hard to create the kind of identity that football clubs have enjoyed for decades. While the T20 league is still in its relative infancy compared to established sporting events, it is succeeding in cornering a global fan base. And the team jersey is the most important part of that effort.
Over the years, IPL teams have come out with some fabulous designs while others have been quickly forgotten. Here, we rank the jerseys of the 10 teams this IPL, starting with the best.
1. Royal Challengers Bangalore
RCB have not won the IPL, but they are beginning to get quite a few things right. They have been runners-up three times and made it to the play-offs the last three seasons, signalling that the elusive title win is just round the corner. What they have also got absolutely right is their kit, which is a striking mix of black and red.
2. Gujarat Titans
Gujarat started with a bang in IPL, winning the title in their inaugural season under swashbuckling captain Hardik Pandya. They were the standout team for a number of reasons, with their dark blue kits, which are the most clutter-free jersey in this edition, chief among them.
3. Chennai Super Kings
No colour has managed to define a franchise, a tournament and a region quite like the yellow of Chennai Super Kings. Even the seats in the stands of their MA Chidambaram Stadium are bright yellow. The roaring lion and camouflage shoulder flaps make CSK's kit the most distinct in all cricket. Even though the colour itself might not appeal to many, it has now become synonymous with Chennai, MS Dhoni and IPL.
4. Mumbai Indians
It might be another blue kit in a long list in franchise cricket, but their gold accents make Mumbai Indians' jersey one of the most sought after. They have the pedigree to go with it as well.
5. Kolkata Knight Riders
The purple jersey of Kolkata might well be one of the highlights of their season, given their struggle to find a replacement leader for the injured Shreyas Iyer. The unheralded Nitish Rana has been named skipper, signalling there is no end in sight to the recent troubles that has seen them fail to make the play-offs in three of the last four seasons.
6. Delhi Capitals
Middle of the pack kit. The usual mix of blue and red, which has not changed much over the years. They have more pressing matters at hand – namely managing without leader Rishabh Pant, who is likely to be out for a long time after his road accident.
7. Rajasthan Royals
It is quite difficult to warm to a pink kit. But it has some cultural significance – Jaipur is called the 'Pink City' due to the dominant colour scheme of its architecture. Even so, better than run-of-the mill blue jerseys in Indian cricket.
8. Punjab Kings
While Manchester United's red is an emotion in itself, Punjab haven't quite go it right with their colour scheme. What is also holding them back is a big local star who can make fans support the team and its colours fervently – like Dhoni has for Chennai and Kohli for Bangalore.
9. Lucknow Super Giants
Last year's kit was considered by many to be among the worst. This year's is hardly an upgrade either. What's worse, their team logo gets lost in the new colour scheme. The jersey looks similar to that of the Indian team from a few years back.
10. Sunrisers Hyderabad
Hyderabad have assembled one of the strongest teams this IPL. It's a shame they don't have a kit with similar vibrancy. A pale mix of orange and black does little to inspire.
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TEST SQUADS
Bangladesh: Mushfiqur Rahim (captain), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Imrul Kayes, Liton Das, Shakib Al Hasan, Mominul Haque, Nasir Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Mehedi Hasan, Shafiul Islam, Taijul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman and Taskin Ahmed.
Australia: Steve Smith (captain), David Warner, Ashton Agar, Hilton Cartwright, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Matthew Wade, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Matt Renshaw, Mitchell Swepson and Jackson Bird.
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Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Crime%20Wave
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The years Ramadan fell in May
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Three ways to boost your credit score
Marwan Lutfi says the core fundamentals that drive better payment behaviour and can improve your credit score are:
1. Make sure you make your payments on time;
2. Limit the number of products you borrow on: the more loans and credit cards you have, the more it will affect your credit score;
3. Don't max out all your debts: how much you maximise those credit facilities will have an impact. If you have five credit cards and utilise 90 per cent of that credit, it will negatively affect your score.
At Everton Appearances: 77; Goals: 17
At Manchester United Appearances: 559; Goals: 253
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League quarter-final second leg:
Juventus 1 Ajax 2
Ajax advance 3-2 on aggregate
The squad traveling to Brazil:
Faisal Al Ketbi, Ibrahim Al Hosani, Khalfan Humaid Balhol, Khalifa Saeed Al Suwaidi, Mubarak Basharhil, Obaid Salem Al Nuaimi, Saeed Juma Al Mazrouei, Saoud Abdulla Al Hammadi, Taleb Al Kirbi, Yahia Mansour Al Hammadi, Zayed Al Kaabi, Zayed Saif Al Mansoori, Saaid Haj Hamdou, Hamad Saeed Al Nuaimi. Coaches Roberto Lima and Alex Paz.
Day 2, stumps
Pakistan 482
Australia 30/0 (13 ov)
Australia trail by 452 runs with 10 wickets remaining in the innings
Fifa Club World Cup quarter-final
Kashima Antlers 3 (Nagaki 49’, Serginho 69’, Abe 84’)
Guadalajara 2 (Zaldivar 03’, Pulido 90')
hall of shame
SUNDERLAND 2002-03
No one has ended a Premier League season quite like Sunderland. They lost each of their final 15 games, taking no points after January. They ended up with 19 in total, sacking managers Peter Reid and Howard Wilkinson and losing 3-1 to Charlton when they scored three own goals in eight minutes.
SUNDERLAND 2005-06
Until Derby came along, Sunderland’s total of 15 points was the Premier League’s record low. They made it until May and their final home game before winning at the Stadium of Light while they lost a joint record 29 of their 38 league games.
HUDDERSFIELD 2018-19
Joined Derby as the only team to be relegated in March. No striker scored until January, while only two players got more assists than goalkeeper Jonas Lossl. The mid-season appointment Jan Siewert was to end his time as Huddersfield manager with a 5.3 per cent win rate.
ASTON VILLA 2015-16
Perhaps the most inexplicably bad season, considering they signed Idrissa Gueye and Adama Traore and still only got 17 points. Villa won their first league game, but none of the next 19. They ended an abominable campaign by taking one point from the last 39 available.
FULHAM 2018-19
Terrible in different ways. Fulham’s total of 26 points is not among the lowest ever but they contrived to get relegated after spending over £100 million (Dh457m) in the transfer market. Much of it went on defenders but they only kept two clean sheets in their first 33 games.
LA LIGA: Sporting Gijon, 13 points in 1997-98.
BUNDESLIGA: Tasmania Berlin, 10 points in 1965-66
MATCH INFO
Kolkata Knight Riders 245/6 (20 ovs)
Kings XI Punjab 214/8 (20 ovs)
Kolkata won by 31 runs
Draw:
Group A: Egypt, DR Congo, Uganda, Zimbabwe
Group B: Nigeria, Guinea, Madagascar, Burundi
Group C: Senegal, Algeria, Kenya, Tanzania
Group D: Morocco, Ivory Coast, South Africa, Namibia
Group E: Tunisia, Mali, Mauritania, Angola
Group F: Cameroon, Ghana, Benin, Guinea-Bissau
Brief scores:
Everton 2
Walcott 21', Sigurdsson 51'
Tottenham 6
Son 27', 61', Alli 35', Kane 42', 74', Eriksen 48'
Man of the Match: Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur)
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