ISL 2017: 5 records held by Kerala Blasters in the Indian Super League

Kerala Blasters are among the heavyweight clubs in the Indian Super League, having made it to the final in two of the three seasons so far. The Men in Yellow have had managerial changes in all three ISL seasons, yet they have done incredibly well to beat all odds and qualify for the playoffs in both 2014 and 2016.

The Blasters enjoy one of the most fervent fan bases in Indian football, as their 60,000-capacity Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium almost always sees maximum turnout during the club's games.

With the ISL's retooling set to take effect from next season onward, let us take a look at the five ISL records that are currently held by Kerala Blasters.

#1 Most number of appearances in the ISL

Kerala Blasters' new signing Iain Hume shares the record for the most number of ISL appearances with his former teammate at ATK, Borja Fernandez. The Canadian's 46 appearances is a record in the popular franchise league.

Apart from that, Kerala Blasters also hold the record for the most number of appearances by an Indian player. Sandesh Jhingan's 41 games in the ISL is still a record, and unlike Hume, the India international has played all his ISL matches in the yellow of Kerala Blasters.

#2 Most number of ISL goals

Iain Hume is the ISL's record goalscorer

Hume's record appearances in the ISL also mean that the 33-year-old has had more chances than most to get on the scoresheet over the three-season history of the franchise league. Hume's 23 goals in the ISL for Kerala Blasters and ATK set him apart as the top marksman in the premier Indian football league's history.

Kerala Blasters will be delighted to welcome Hume to their fold and he is expected to add to his goal tally next season. It remains to be seen whether the Canada international can finally help the Blasters to eventual glory.

#3 Longest unbeaten home run

Steve Coppell led the Blasters to the longest unbeaten run at home in the ISL last season

Kerala Blasters set the record for the most number of unbeaten home games in the ISL when they went on an eight-game streak last season. Incidentally, Delhi Dynamos also went the entire season in 2016 unbeaten at home and are level with the Blasters in this category.

The Men in Yellow got off to a poor start when they lost to ATK in ISL-3's first match but came back strongly to finish the campaign without any further casualties at home. That said, they couldn't really make their home advantage count when it mattered most as they lost to ATK in the final, which was staged in Kochi, on penalties.

#4 Most number of Man of the Match awards

CK Vineeth featured in the Team of the Season in ISL 2016

The ISL's Man of the Match award, known as the Hero of the Match for sponsorship reasons, is awarded after every match to recognise the contribution of the best player on the pitch. In that regard, Kerala Blasters are better than every other club in the ISL.

Kerala Blasters' players have won the most number of Man of the Match awards in the ISL's three-year history, with the Men in Yellow accounting for 28 of them across three seasons. FC Goa and Chennaiyin FC run the Blasters close with 27 Man of the Match awards each.

#5 The biggest ISL stadium

The Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium in Kochi

Although this record stands to be disputed because of the much higher capacity of Kolkata's Salt Lake Stadium, the fact that ATK played their home matches at the much smaller Rabindra Sarobar Stadium makes Kerala Blasters' Kochi home of the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium the current biggest ISL stadium by capacity.

Since ATK will not continue at the Rabindra Sarobar Stadium next season and instead shift to the Salt Lake Stadium, Kerala Blasters will not have the biggest ISL stadium for the second season in succession.