The Indian Premier League is one of the most competitive and widely-anticipated cricket tournaments in the world. Since its inception in 2008, there have been several teams that rose to fame, only to fall into oblivion. The worst teams, however, are those that could not get anywhere with such a saga of failures over the years. With this backdrop, identifying the "Worst Team in IPL History" brings to mind a few immediate contenders. We will then look at the win-loss records, playoff appearances, and other key metrics of some of the longest franchises in the league to determine the IPL's most unsuccessful team. In search of the magic, we will find which team has consistently underperformed and basks in the dubious distinction as the Worst Team in IPL History. Team Matches Wins Losses Tie/NR Win% Punjab Kings 246 109 133 4/0 45.12% Delhi Capitals 252 112 134 4/2 45.60% Royal Challengers Bangalore 256 121 128 3/4 47.26% Sunrisers Hyderabad 182 87 91 4/0 47.80% Rajasthan Royals 222 110 106 3/3 49.54% Kolkata Knight Riders 252 130 117 4/1 51.58% Which is the Worst Team in IPL History? Considering the two worst win percentages in IPL history according to the table, Punjab Kings and Delhi Capitals are the Worst Team in IPL History. Let's get into the story behind both of the worse-performing franchises. Punjab Kings (formerly Kings XI Punjab) Image Source : BCCI Punjab Kings, co-owned by Preity Zinta, has been a part of the IPL since its inception in 2008. Even though some of the big names in cricket are associated with them over the years, including Kumar Sangakkara, Brett Lee, Chris Gayle, and KL Rahul, to name a few, the team has never been able to come through in a big way. Punjab Kings are the most unsuccessful side in the history of IPL. They have a winning percentage of just 45.12% after playing 246 matches. They had qualified for the playoffs only once. That was in 2014, when they topped the table. Apart from this, the team has been in the clutches of inconsistency and their incapability of stringing up winning campaigns. The primary reasons are the absence of local talents, underperformance of foreign players, and inadequate maintenance of a core of players. Sometimes they relied too much on their overseas stars, which more often than not failed to deliver in crunch situations. Also Read | Top 10 Record-Breaking Wins by Runs in ODI Cricket History Delhi Capitals (formerly Delhi Daredevils) Image Source : BCCI But the only team which, based on history, has under-performed so far in the IPL is Delhi Capitals, previously known as Delhi Daredevils. Owned by GMR and JSW groups, Delhi has had a star-studded side over the years with the likes of AB de Villiers, David Warner, Andre Russell, Glenn Maxwell, Gautam Gambhir, and Virender Sehwag, among many more. Yet this talent did not add up to on-field consistency. Still, till IPL 2020, they were the only team that hadn't made it to the final of the tournament, a dubious distinction they finally shed that year by making it to the final, losing only to Mumbai Indians. Delhi Capitals had played 252 games till the end of IPL 2024. Delhi Capitals had won 112 and lost 134 games. Their winning percentage stands at 45.60%. Delhi Capitals are the second Worst Team in IPL History , with only Punjab Kings ahead of them. The reasons behind Delhi Capitals's poor run are very much similar to that of Punjab Kings: failure to get a complete core team, inability to carry through their big stars with good consistency, and lack of team cohesion and winning mentality. Royal Challengers Bangalore Image Source : BCCI More surprisingly, Royal Challengers Bangalore also finds a place in the list of Worst Team in IPL History. With such a long list of cricketing greats in its roster - a Virat Kohli, an AB de Villiers, and a Chris Gayle - it is puzzling why RCB has yet to win an IPL title. RCB have played 256 games in IPL and won 121 and lost 128, while the win percentage is 47.26%. This team has won the final of the tournament three times, in 2009, 2011, and 2016; however, they have not been able to win the title on these three occasions. The underperformance of RCB can thus primarily be attributed to the inability of the team to balance its side and to over-reliance on individual brilliance. While they boasted some of the best batters in the world, their bowling unit time and again was disappointing and managed to force them into losing such high scoring efforts. Sunrisers Hyderabad Image Source : Associated Press Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) is another team that has struggled to be consistent in success in the IPL. The team, under David Warner's leadership, won the title in 2016 but could not replicate that in the last couple of years.In 182 matches played thus far, SRH has won 87 and lost 91. Their win percentage stands at 47.80%. Though they have flashed moments of glory quite a few times, the reliance on overseas players has been their real problem when it comes to consistency. The loss of key players like Warner, not being able to produce quality domestic talent have been major handicaps, and SRH's recent performances are quite dismal, so there is a lot of rebuilding the team needs to do to come anywhere close to its original form. Rajasthan Royals Image Source : BCCI The other Worst Team in IPL History are the Rajasthan Royals, which incidentally had won the first edition of the IPL way back in 2008. So far in 222 matches, they have won 110 and lost 106 with a win percentage of 49.54%. Rajasthan's failure was because of inconsistency in their side and over-reliance on their overseas players. After their magical win in 2008 with Shane Warne at the helm, the side has not been able to repeat that feat with so many transitions, in both the captaincy department and the playing XI. However, in the recent couple of years, Rajasthan Royals have seen a transformation. Players like Sanju Samson and Rahul Dravid have led the side to victory. In fact, the last two seasons have gone much beyond promise, and hopefully they break the drought in the titles in the next years. Also Read | Rohit Sharma Biography: Age, Family, Career, Achievements, IPL - All Details Kolkata Knight Riders Image Source : BCCI Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) is the only team that wins this list as they have won the title twice for IPL; 2012 and 2014. Still, they make their way into this list due to their weak initial seasons from 2008-2011 that sharply declined their total winning percentage. However, at 51.58% win rate from 252 matches, KKR holds a somewhat positional anomaly in this list, with their fortunes improving when Gautam Gambhir donned the captain's gowns to lead them on to a pair of IPL titles, while its inconsistent performances over the last few years have added to the below mention lot of Worst Team in IPL History. Conclusion Thus, the Worst Team in IPL History would be Punjab Kings, formerly known as Kings XI Punjab. They have an inconsiderable win percentage of a mere 45.12% after 246 matches, and they have underperformed over and over to become a force in the league. Although none of the other teams such as Delhi Capitals, Royal Challengers Bangalore, or Sunrisers Hyderabad have managed to maintain momentum for an extended period, Punjab Kings, by virtue of having the worst record and being trophy-less, are effectively the winner (or loser, in this case) of the unwelcome prize. With the IPL evolving further and new teams joining the fray, only time will tell whether any of the current "worst teams" can turn around their fortunes and get rid of the "worst team" tag. Till then, Punjab Kings will like to cling onto the dubious distinction of being the most unsuccessful team in the history of Indian Premier League.