According to a report released by CrispInsight-Kadence, fan loyalty continues to centre around players rather than teams during the current IPL season.

The report stated that 98% of viewers have a favourite player, but only 37% have a team they are supporting and newer franchises are still vying for attention. 

While brands continue partnering with the tournament, the tournament is not great for recall. The 'superfans' - top 25% viewers of the tournament can recall only six brands associated with the sport.

Payment service brands and electronics saw relatively strong recall, particularly among viewers with a pre-existing interest in those segments. Only a quarter of the 200 brands tracked managed to cross the 4% recall mark. 

Around 27% of the viewers are left without any impact by the brands advertising.

During the start of the third week of the tournament, Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni were the 'most admired' with Rohit Sharma, Suryakumar Yadav, and Rishabh Pant climbing into the top 10.

On the team front, Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) and Mumbai Indians (MI) continue to lead fan allegiance within their home territories 91% of fans from RCB’s catchment area name it as their first or second favourite team, followed closely by MI and CSK. The 'weakest team' in this segment are the Delhi Capitals and Lucknow Super Giants.

Ritesh Ghosal, partner, CrispInsight, said, “Fan sentiment doesn’t shift as easily as match scores. The consistency of legacy players and franchises keeps them at the top of mind—and that’s gold for brands looking to build lasting connections with IPL audiences.”

Aman Makkar, MD, Kadence International, said, “Brands that integrate themselves meaningfully within the IPL experience—through team sponsorships, stadium branding, or player endorsements—stand out far more than those relying solely on ad volume,” added Aman Makkar, of Kadence International. “Player-driven brand storytelling is clearly outperforming traditional formats in terms of both recall and emotional engagement.”