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When Mashal Sports and Star Sports joined hands to initiate the Pro Kabaddi League (PKL), not many expected the league to achieve the heights that it has achieved today. In 2014, eight city-based franchises wrote the first word in PKL's golden history as PKL is now one of the top most sports leagues of the world.
The talented home-grown players took the sport from mud to mat and even influenced a lot of foreign nations to adopt Kabaddi in their sporting culture.
Seeing the league's immense success, the organizers decided to increase the number of teams from 8 to 12 from the fifth edition. The franchise's popularity too grew by leaps and bounds, both physically and digitally.
Amongst the digital media, social media is the best way to measure a team's popularity and here's a ranking of all the 12 teams on the basis of their followers on Facebook:
#12 - Tamil Thalaivas - 279.8k followers
Best finish in PKL - Last position in Pool B Points Table (Season 5 and 6)
Co-owned by famous actors Allu Arjun and Ram Charan, the Chennai-based Tamil Thalaivas have failed to replicate the success achieved by their owners in their respective fields. Ajay Thakur has been the franchise's face since their debut but the team has always languished at the bottom of the points table.
This could be the main reason behind their lesser number of followers on Facebook. The owners and team management have built a star-studded squad for the upcoming season by purchasing the likes of Rahul Chaudhari in the auction.
Also Read - Pro Kabaddi League 2019 Auction: Full list of players bought by Tamil Thalaivas
They had retained Manjeet Chhillar and Ajay Thakur ahead of the auction and now that Chaudhari has joined the team, expect their fan following and the position in the points table to witness a sharp rise.
#11 - Haryana Steelers - 346.6k followers
Best finish in PKL - Play-offs (Season 5)
Haryana Steelers stunned everyone with their dominant performance in their debut season. Owned by JSW Group, the Sonipat-based team reached the play-offs of PKL 5 but in PKL 6, they never got going and ended up in the bottom half of the points table.
The Steelers hold the record of purchasing the most expensive player in PKL history as they achieved this feat by submitting a bid of 1.51 crores INR to buy Monu Goyat in the auction. But, Goyat crumbled under the pressure of his hefty price and could not deliver the goods for Haryana.
This led to his release from the team as the team built a fresh squad in the season seven auction. Vikas Kandola and Prashant Kumar Rai will be their top players in the upcoming season.
Haryana Steelers have less than 3,50,000 followers on Facebook, which is surprising given that Sonipat is known to have a huge Kabaddi audience.
#10 UP Yoddha - 362.4k followers
Best finish in PKL - Play-offs (Season 5 and 6)
The Greater Noida-based UP Yoddha franchise is owned by the GMR group. They were amongst the four franchises who joined the PKL in the fifth edition. UP Yoddha were successful in reaching the play-offs of both the seasons they played.
They performed dominantly in their debut season but in the succeeding season, the Yoddhas faltered in the initial stages of the league only to bounce back and finish in the top 3.
Rishank Devadiga has been the top player of the team and the Maharashtra-born raider will represent the Uttar Pradesh team once again in season seven, after UP Yoddha bought him via Final Bid Match in the auction.
The team has over 3,50,000 followers on their official Facebook page and if the franchise maintains its consistency in the upcoming tournament, then expect the number to go up higher.
#9 - Gujarat Fortunegiants - 365.4k followers
Best finish in PKL - Runners-up (Season 5 and 6)
Gujarat Fortunegiants, owned by Adani Wilmar Ltd, has built a strong fan base in the past two years. The most important point to note here is that the franchise has never had prominent names in their squad.
Their coach Manpreet Singh has always believed in young blood and in these two seasons, he has exceptionally nurtured unknown youngsters like Sachin, Sunil Kumar and Parvesh Bhainswal.
The team's home base is Ahmedabad, a place which relatively has lesser scope in Kabaddi but the team has generated interest for the sport in the hearts of the fans by reaching two consecutive finals in PKL.
They have 365,411 followers on Facebook and they edged out UP Yoddha by a gap of mere 3,000 followers to become the most followed side amongst the teams that joined PKL in season five.
#8 - Telugu Titans - 525.1k followers
Best finish in PKL - 3rd Position (Season 2)
Telugu Titans are considered as the underachievers of PKL because they always have a star-studded line-up which can defeat any team, yet somehow they manage to crash out of the first stage of the tournament itself. Rahul Chaudhari, the poster boy of PKL was the face of Telugu Titans for the first six seasons, however, the team decided to release him this year and build a new core.
Telugu Titans have never reached the final of any PKL season despite making it to the play-offs twice. Owned by Veera Sports, the team receives immense support from their home fans but they disappoint them time and again with their lacklustre performances.
Because of their poor record in PKL, Telugu Titans have only 525.1k followers on Facebook which is by far the lowest amongst the eight teams which joined PKL in the very first edition.
#7 - Patna Pirates - 678.7k followers
Best finish in PKL - Champions (Season 3,4 and 5)
Patna Pirates have been the most successful team in PKL history, having won the PKL championship thrice. Not only did the Pirates win the title thrice, they established themselves as the supreme team of the league by winning three consecutive PKL seasons. Pardeep Narwal is the face of this franchise, which is owned by Rajesh Shah.
Despite being three-time champions of PKL, the Patna Pirates have 678.7k followers on Facebook which indicates that the team has relatively lesser fan following digitally. The Patna franchise could not impress their fans in the previous edition of PKL but this year they have veteran Surender Nada in their defense department.
With the likes of Pardeep Narwal and Surender Nada in their squad, expect the Pirates to win their 4th title this year.
#6 - Bengal Warriors - 720.3k followers
Best finish in PKL - Play-offs (Season 3 and 5)
Bengal Warriors seemed to be a misfit in PKL in the initial seasons. However, the team garnered momentum from the 3rd season and has never looked back ever since. The Kolkata-based team has reached the second stage of the league multiple times but never have they been able to reach the final.
Jang Kun Lee has been the team's most famous player while the team management has always shuffled the remaining players. Maninder Singh has become the cornerstone of this franchise since season five.
Though the Warriors have never won a single PKL title, they have over 720,000 followers on Facebook which shows the strong bond that the Bengal Warriors share with their fans. The kabaddi fans in Kolkata always turn up in huge numbers at the Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose Indoor Stadium to support their home team and, they have also made their presence felt on social media.
#5- Jaipur Pink Panthers - 781.2k followers
Best finish in PKL - Champions (Season 1)
The first-ever champions of PKL, Jaipur Pink Panthers have a massive fan following on Facebook. With nearly 8,00,000 followers, the Abhishek Bachchan-owned franchise has a very loyal fan base. Though their team failed miserably in the previous season, the fans did not back off and showed up in good numbers to support their team in their home leg.
Jasvir Singh was the face of the franchise for quite a while but the owners decided to do away with him and start afresh. They recruited the services of Anup Kumar, Mohit Chhillar and Deepak Niwas Hooda last year but the experienced pros could not carry the team on their shoulders.
The Pink Panthers have been fairly successful in PKL, having finished as runners-up in the fourth season as well. With Deepak Niwas Hooda and Nilesh Salunkhe in their raiding department, the team's performance is expected to improve this year.
#4 - Puneri Paltan - 921.1k followers
Best finish in PKL - Play-offs (Season 3 and 5)
Puneri Paltan, just like Bengal Warriors, had an underwhelming start to their PKL journey but the team picked up momentum from the third season and has been a top title contender always. The team has shuffled its players a lot but they have managed to fare well in every season.
Defense has been Pune's main strength and they have big names like Surjeet Singh and Girish Maruti Ernak in their defense department this season. They will have the support of raider Nitin Tomar. The hopes of Puneri Paltan will rely a lot on this terrific trio,
In spite of the fact that Pune have never reached a PKL final, they have a spectacular fan following on Facebook with more than 9,20,000 users following the team. The major reason behind these huge numbers is the kabaddi culture of Maharashtra.
#3 - Bengaluru Bulls - 931.5k followers
Best finish in PKL - Champions (Season 6)
Bengaluru Bulls have been one of the most dominant teams in PKL history thanks to the presence of prominent names like Ajay Thakur, Manjeet Chhillar and Dharmaraj Cheralathan in their list of alumni. They had reached the final of PKL 2015 but could not lift the trophy then. However, the team quenched the thirst of their fans by capturing the title last year.
Owned by Kosmik Global Media, the Bengaluru-based franchise are the defending champions of PKL. Their coach Randhir Singh has played a major role in the team's success. The Bulls have retained majority of their top players from the previous season with the aim of repeating their season six performance this year.
Due to their incredible performances in PKL, Bengaluru Bulls are the third most followed team on Facebook with a staggering 930,000+ followers.
#2 - Dabang Delhi KC - 1m followers
Best finish in PKL - Play-offs (Season 6)
Surprisingly, Dabang Delhi KC are the second most followed team in PKL. The Delhi franchise had always been in the bottom half of the points table from season one to season five, yet they have over 10,00,000 followers on Facebook. The team improved its performance last year and qualified for the play-offs only to falter in the knockout stage.
However, their fans have always been behind them. Meraj Sheykh has been the face of this team and the all-rounder will once again represent the Eagles in the upcoming season. The experience of veteran Joginder Narwal helped the team a lot last year.
The 1 million+ fans of Delhi will hope that their team continues their fine form in 2019 as well and cross the final hurdle this year.
#1 - U Mumba - 1.02m followers
Best finish in PKL - Champions (Season 2)
U Mumba were the most consistent unit in the initial seasons of PKL. There was a time when U Mumba always fielded the same playing seven, comprising Anup Kumar, Rishank Devadiga, Shabeer Bappu, Jeeva Kumar, Vishal Mane, Mohit Chhillar and Surender Nada. These seven players made U Mumba an unbeatable side from 2014-16.
The team disintegrated in the fourth season as U Mumba's era of dominance in the PKL ended. Owned by Ronnie Screwvala, the team performed well in season 6 but they could not reach the final.
With Mumbai being one of the top markets for kabaddi, U Mumba have enjoyed a loyal fan following since season one. They have 1.02 million followers on Facebook which makes them the most popular team of PKL. Without a doubt, a major part of this fan following is because of the team's performances in the years 2014-16.
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