Sports Leagues of India: Pro Kabaddi, ISL and IPL Facts

The correct answer is B, 2008. The Board of Control for Cricket in India announced the Twenty20 league in 2007 and the first season was played in 2008, with Lalit Modi as the first chairman and commissioner. Option A is wrong, though it is the most tempting choice: 2007 is the year the league was founded and announced, and also the year India won the first ICC World Twenty20, but no IPL match was played in it. Option C is wrong because 2010 was the third season, held in India after the second season had been shifted to South Africa in 2009 because of the general election. Option D is wrong because 2012 was the fifth season, won by Kolkata Knight Riders. Read the stem carefully: a question about the founding year and a question about the first season played have different answers.

The correct answer is C, Rajasthan Royals. Rajasthan Royals, led by the Australian leg spinner Shane Warne, won the 2008 final against Chennai Super Kings at the Dr D. Y. Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, and they remain the only team to win the title in the league's first attempt with the smallest purse of that season. Option A is wrong because Chennai Super Kings were the beaten finalists in 2008 and won their first title in 2010. Option B is wrong because Mumbai Indians did not reach the 2008 final and took their first title in 2013. Option D is wrong because Deccan Chargers finished last in 2008 and then won the second season in 2009 in South Africa, a reversal examiners enjoy turning into a question. Remember the pair: Rajasthan Royals in 2008, Deccan Chargers in 2009.

The correct answer is C, 2014. The Pro Kabaddi League began in 2014, organised by Mashal Sports along with the Amateur Kabaddi Federation of India, and it was built deliberately on the franchise model of the IPL, with city teams, a player auction and a television contract. Option A is wrong because 2008 is the year of the first IPL season, not of the kabaddi league. Option B is wrong because 2013 is the year the Hockey India League and the Indian Badminton League began, so it is the natural trap in this question. Option D is wrong because 2017 is the year Ultimate Table Tennis started. The first Pro Kabaddi season was won by Jaipur Pink Panthers, and the league is credited with turning an indigenous rural sport into a television property that reached a mass audience.

The correct answer is B, Jaipur Pink Panthers. Jaipur Pink Panthers won the inaugural Pro Kabaddi League final of 2014 against U Mumba, and the team's association with a film star owner gave the new league much of its early publicity. Option A is wrong because U Mumba were the beaten finalists in the first season and won the title in the second season. Option C is wrong because Patna Pirates became champions later and are remembered for a run of consecutive titles, not for the first season. Option D is wrong because Bengaluru Bulls won their first title several seasons after the league began. The safe way to handle kabaddi questions is to learn the first season's winner and runner-up, which never change, rather than the current champion, which does.

The correct answer is B, football. The Indian Super League was launched in 2014 with franchises in eight cities and is run under the All India Football Federation, which from the 2019-20 season recognised it as the country's top football division, with the I-League below it. Option A is wrong because the hockey franchise league is the Hockey India League, which began in 2013 and was preceded by World Series Hockey. Option C is wrong because volleyball has the Pro Volleyball League, started in 2019, and later the Prime Volleyball League. Option D is wrong because basketball has had the UBA Pro Basketball League and other short-lived competitions, not the ISL. Also remember that India's oldest football tournaments are knockout cups rather than leagues: the Durand Cup of 1888 and the Santosh Trophy of 1941.

The correct answer is B, Atletico de Kolkata. The Kolkata franchise, then partnered with the Spanish club Atletico Madrid, beat Kerala Blasters in the 2014 final with a goal in stoppage time, and the club was later renamed ATK. Option A is wrong because Kerala Blasters were the runners-up in that first final, which makes them the standard distractor. Option C is wrong because Bengaluru FC was founded in 2013 and played in the I-League first, entering the Indian Super League only from the 2017-18 season. Option D is wrong because FC Goa reached the semi-finals in the first season and won the league title later. The useful fact to carry into the exam hall is the first final itself: Atletico de Kolkata against Kerala Blasters, in 2014.

The correct answer is C, 2023. The Board of Control for Cricket in India launched the Women's Premier League in 2023 with five franchises, and Mumbai Indians won the first final against Delhi Capitals at the Brabourne Stadium in Mumbai. Option A is wrong because 2018 belongs to the earlier Women's T20 Challenge, a short exhibition tournament of three teams played alongside the IPL playoffs, which the WPL replaced. Option B is wrong because 2021 saw no new BCCI franchise league for women. Option D is wrong because 2024 was the second season of the WPL, part of which was played at Bengaluru. The question is worth attention because papers often ask which earlier competition the Women's Premier League replaced, and the answer is the Women's T20 Challenge.

The correct answer is C, 2022. Ultimate Kho Kho was launched in 2022 as the first franchise league for kho kho, and the Odisha Juggernauts won the inaugural season. The league introduced mats instead of mud courts, a dream run and attack and defence points, so that a traditional school-ground game could be televised. Option A is wrong because 2016 is the year the Indian Badminton League was renamed the Premier Badminton League and the year Premier Futsal was launched. Option B is wrong because 2019 is the year the Pro Volleyball League started, won in its first season by Chennai Spartans. Option D is wrong because 2024 was a later season rather than the launch. Kho kho and kabaddi questions usually come together, so remember 2014 for the Pro Kabaddi League and 2022 for Ultimate Kho Kho.

The correct answer is B, Ranchi Rhinos. The Hockey India League began in 2013 under Hockey India, and Ranchi Rhinos won the first final; the league was notable for buying the world's best players at auction and for bringing international hockey to Indian cities for several weeks each winter. Option A is wrong because Delhi Waveriders were runners-up in the first season and took the title in a later edition. Option C is wrong because the Punjab franchise, which played as Jaypee Punjab Warriors, won the league later, not in 2013. Option D is wrong because Uttar Pradesh Wizards never won the first season. Note the related trap: World Series Hockey, a rival competition, was played in 2012, a year before the Hockey India League, and the two are often swapped in question papers.

The correct answer is B, the Ranji Trophy. The Ranji Trophy, begun in 1934-35 and named after Ranjitsinhji, is India's premier first-class cricket championship, played between teams representing states and a few institutional sides selected by the BCCI, not between privately owned city franchises. Option A is wrong because the Pro Kabaddi League, from 2014, is a franchise league with city teams bought by investors and players allotted by auction. Option C is wrong because the Premier Badminton League, which began in 2013 as the Indian Badminton League and was renamed in 2016, is also franchise-based. Option D is wrong because Ultimate Table Tennis, from 2017, is likewise a franchise competition. Papers set this question often, using the Duleep Trophy, the Santosh Trophy and the Durand Cup in place of the Ranji Trophy.