The Indian Premier League is arguably one of the toughest T20 competitions in the world, played annually since 2008. We attempt to take a look at what an all-time IPL table would look like.

Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings are the most successful teams in the competition and have combined to win nine trophies thus far. Every season, all teams have to start afresh, and we wonder how teams would place if performance in every single game from 2008 till 2021 was taken into consideration.

We have not considered the results in the ongoing season, and have also not accounted for the two new teams in 2022, Gujarat Titans and Lucknow Super Giants.

If only league games are counted

Each time ordinarily plays 14 league games every season, barring 2012 and 2013, when the sides played 16 games apiece. We have calculated two points for every win, one for a No Result and taken into account all the league games played in the first 14 years.

CSK display just how dominating they have been, despite not featuring in 2016 and 2017, after the franchise was banned. As a result, they rank lower than MI in terms of points won, but with just a gap of 29 points between the two sides, it can be argued that, if CSK had not been
banned, they could have led the points tally as well. CSK, on average, win 1.22 points per game and are the only side that wins more than 17 points, on average, in a campaign.

What is intriguing is that Royal Challengers Bangalore, a team that did not win a single title till 2021, are in the top-four, just below Kolkata Knight Riders, in terms of average points won per game and the average points won in a season.

If playoffs are counted

We have not calculated the number of games a team has played in a playoff, because the team that wins Qualifier 1 and directly qualifies for the final plays lesser games than a side who made the top two after winning the Eliminator and Qualifier 2.

Instead, the number of times they have qualified for the top four is taken into consideration.

Unsurprisingly, CSK top this table, having qualified for the top four in all but one season (in 2020) that they played.

Once again, the surprise entrants are RCB: not only are they in the top four with regards to average points point in a campaign, but they also have a qualification percentage of 50, a decent feat from a side that are yet to win a title. Sunrisers Hyderabad have qualified for the top four six times in nine editions, giving them the second-best qualification percentage.

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