IPL: A Logo-based Appeal

The somewhat controversial, yet undoubtedly colourful Indian Premier Cricket League has commenced playing its shorter, highly marketable and multicultural brand of Twenty20 cricket. Much money has been bandied about to attract top players from around the cricketing world, with player salaries featuring lots (and lots) of zeros. If you're into cricket you probably know whom is playing where. I like the multicultural makeup of the teams, but first and foremost (being a very casual fan of the game myself) I must admit I was more concerned with the graphic identities of the teams. What sort and style of logo would the IPL teams use? This is cricket after all, with a distinctive Indian feel and flavour to it.

Would the team graphics be Indian in style?, or more universal and middle-of-the-road (to cater for a large audience)? As we're on the subcontinent, I was hoping for a technicolour explosion of Indian colours, a dash of Bollywood – something distinctively Indian to drive home the fact that this is the Indian Premier League of cricket.

What we got is not exactly that. The new IPL logos are, well, pretty ordinary and sometimes even quite 'American'* in style. And that's just not cricket!

For a cricket league based on the subcontinent many of the designed marks don't seem terribly appropriate for the game nor related to the area's cultural background (or is that just me?). The Mumbai Indians and the Delhi Daredevils probably get closest to the mark perhaps. Interestingly, India achieved independence in 1947 and has no royal family as such, so it's perhaps quite odd to see three of the IPL teams with nostalgic 'royal' nomenclature: the Rajasthan Royals, the Chennai Super Kings and the Bangalore Royal Challengers. Curious indeed.

Our studio will be supporting Hyderabad (the Deccan Chargers). I've never been to Hyderabad. I know nothing about the place. I'm sure it's a fine place with wonderful food and friendly people. I just liked the sound of the name. I then learnt that our accounts guy (and studio cricket expert and right arm-leg spin bowler), Sonny, who is of Indian extraction, has his family connections back in that city. So it's 'Go Unstoppables' I guess. I hope we play better than we logo. The Deccan logo is not terribly Indian in style and is, well, quite American in appearance (raging beast, horns, etc... you know, 'danger' as many of the testosterone-driven NFL logos signify). I could be tempted to swap to the Rajasthan Royals. They logo better perhaps. But I've just been informed by the design/cricket experts here that their logo looks like it's for tea.

You can't win. Tea anyone?

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* Not that there's anything 'wrong' with American sporting logos. But we're in Delhi, Mumbai and Bangalore not Detroit, Minneapolis or Boston.

Comments

[The Worst of Perth]

Pretty ordinary. I remember Kipling's Jungle Book had "The Red Dogs of The Deccan". Could have made a nice logo.

[andrew budge]

I'd like to see David Boon tempted out of retirement to lead the Delhi Bellies onto the pitch.

[Mark.S.]

It is a shame there's not more of a local Indian flavour in the team logos. Evidence, I guess, of the power and influence of American sports.
The Kolkata Night Riders look like an identity for Hungry Jacks, advertising a new line of 'Spartan burgers' or something!