No more Bangalore; it’s going to be Bengaluru. RCB have changed their name from Royal Challengers Bangalore to ‘Bengaluru’ ahead of the start of the IPL 2024 season. The franchise, with Chinnaswamy Stadium as their home ground, dropped a hint a few days ago that they’d change their official name.
In 2014, Bangalore officially changed its name to Bengaluru. Following the change, other sporting franchises also changed their names. Name changes and rebranding have happened in the IPL before as well. However, the reasons behind the past changes were different.
IPL franchises to change their name
| Original (Year) | After rebranding/name change (Year) | |
| Royal Challengers Bangalore (2008-23 | Royal Challengers Bengaluru (2024-) | |
| Delhi Daredevils (2008-2018) | Delhi Capitals (2019- | |
| Kings XI Punjab (2008-2020) | Punjab Kings (2021- | |
| Deccan Chargers (2008-12) | Sunrisers Hyderabad (2013- | |
| Rising Pune Supergiants (2016) | Rising Pune Supergiant (2018) | |
| Kolkata Knight Riders (2008, 2010-present) | Knight Riders (2009) |
Three IPL franchises have changed their names or rebranded themselves in the past 16 editions of the IPL. The Delhi Daredevils and Kings XI Punjab are the most recent ones to rebrand themselves, while the Deccan Chargers were terminated by the league in 2012.
Kings XI Punjab (now Punjab Kings) underwent the change in 2020. Apart from their names, everything remained the same, from owners to players. The Delhi Daredevils (now Delhi Capitals) did something similar to the Punjab Kings in 2019, rebranding themselves with the same owners and players.
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The Sunrisers Hyderabad came into existence in 2013, following the illegal termination of the Deccan Chargers. The ownership of the franchise changed from Deccan Chronicle Holding Ltd. to SUN Group, while the players remained with the team.
Kolkata Knight Riders attempted a name change after the inaugural edition to Knight Riders. However, they quickly switched back to their original name.
RPS, who featured in two IPL seasons, changed their name from Rising Pune Supergiants to Rising Pune Supergiants.
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