If IPL teams were your favourite day to day brands

Come April and the 10th instalment of the Indian Premier League will make its way into your living room. Just like Ambuja Cements or the Havells wire, the eye candy of T20 cricket has weathered many a storm and proved its durability. The tournament often got dragged into numerous controversies but never lost its charm. Today we take a look at each of the IPL sides and the brands that can be easily related to them. 1.Mumbai Indians- Thums Up Mumbai Indians (Photo Source: IANS) Their team song clearly says they can shake the world –‘Duniya hila denge hum’. And they aren’t too wrong about it. The two-time IPL champions are a massive thunder to deal with as long as the spirit is intact just like Thumps up. Once the moral goes for a toss, the team starts cracking, much like when you cap off the bottle for too long, the thunder vanishes. Ever tried the soft drink with masala? It is just like Rohit Sharma playing at the Eden Gardens. Pure delight! 2.Kolkata Knight Riders- Lux Cozi Kolkata Knight Riders. (Photo Source: BCCI) Owned by Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, Kolkata Knight Riders’ entry into the IPL was no less cinematic. They started off with a bang but soon victories eluded them. They lost at home and got cleaned up away. There was a point of time when the dialogue from Baazigar “ Haar ke jeetne walo ko Baazigar kehte hai” gave us moral victory. It became difficult to walk on the streets wearing the black and golden jersey, which later changed into purple and gold . People would remind how Rohit Sharma took that game away from you, or how Ross Taylor had the last laugh. We wore it with pride, and no one bullied us because we wore it inside just like Lux Cozi. ‘ Ye passion ka mamla hai’. 3.Royal Challengers Bangalore- Heineken Beer RCB (Photo Source: BCCI) It doesn’t come cheap, it is popular and it has a starry appeal to it. Yes, the star that you see in the logo resembles the likes of Virat Kohli, Chris Gayle, AB de Villiers and many more of them. The only trouble is RCB hasn’t won the silverware ever and a bottle of Heineken just can’t get you high enough. The official beer of Formula one in 2016 might inspire the kings of good times to get their act together. 4.Delhi Daredevils- Gillette Delhi Daredevils. (Photo Source: BCCI) When in song, Delhi Daredevils can produce the best cricket a fan can get. The entertaining Virender Sehwag-Gautam Gambhir partnerships, Imran Tahir’s trademark celebration run and Amit Mishra’s magical spells are few mentions. The connect they enjoy with the ‘Dilli’ fans are as close as the Gillette razor, which provides closeness like no other, virtually shaving off each facial hair. And who is the coach? Rahul Dravid. Need we say more? 5.Sunrisers Hyderabad- Nescafe Sunrisers Hyderabad. (Photo Source: BCCI) They have got the likes of David Warner, Yuvraj Singh and Mustafizur Rahman in their ranks, and it won’t be surprising if they go on to make it 2 in 2.The defending champions need to get a good start early in the tournament to avoid the panic buttons. And to start early you must wake up early. Nothing like Nescafe, whose one sip ( an early win in this case) can further strengthen the prospects of making it to the qualifiers. 6.Kings XI Punjab- Baskin and Robbins Kings XI Punjab (Photo Source: Surjeet Yadav/IANS) As long as they are in their comfort zone, the Kings XI Punjab side can win the world but take them out of it, and on most occasions, they will melt like the ‘ Mint Milky Chocolate Chips’. They came close to winning the IPL in 2014 but somehow lost their cool at the fag end. They have got different flavours just like the world’s largest chain of ice cream speciality shop. A ‘Rum Punch’ in Glenn Maxwell, ‘Fruit Overload’ in David Miller and a ‘Honey Nut Crunch’ in their latest recruit Marcus Stoinis. It will be interesting to see if they can scoop their opposition in the chase for glory. 7.Rising Pune Supergiants / Gujarat Lions- Glucon D Gujarat Lions’ Ravindra Jadeja and Dwayne Bravo with Rising Pune Supergiants captain MS Dhoni (Photo: Surjeet Yadav/IANS) Certain things in life come with an expiry date. Rising Pune Supergiants and Gujarat Lions’ IPL tryst is one. The sides came charged up like our all time favourite summer drink Glucon D but with an expiry date of 24 months. They have made a name for themselves and both the sides will look to finish on a high. The energy drink recovers you from fatigue and these two sides will add a refreshing element in the T20 brand of cricket with the Indian home Test season coming to an end. Author’s take: We hope sides like Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals will look up to the popular brand Nestlé Maggi noodles in this crisis situation and make a strong comeback in next year’s IPL.

If IPL teams were your favourite day to day brands

A much needed humour analysis just before the start of intense action.