The Pak-Ind rivalry in the world of cricket has always remained as one of the most anticipated one. After yet another successful edition of Pakistan Super League (PSL), Indian cricket management is starting to sweat.
The trend of commercializing cricket was started when Lalit Modi — a renowned fraud — played an instrumental role in the launch of Indian Premier League (IPL). Following IPL, other Test playing nations also followed in the footsteps and Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) and Caribbean Premier League (CPL) were launched.
Pakistan was the latest country to join the boom of T20 league and in 2015, the Pakistan Super League (PSL) was launched.
With each passing year, PSL has grown stronger with matches being shifted and played in Pakistan. This has hurt the reputation of IPL as the sole domestic league which could gather all the stars under one umbrella.
Talking about the comparison between both leagues, Shahid Khan Afridi had a few words to say.
Even if they call me, I won’t go to the IPL. My PSL is the biggest and there will be a time that it leaves the IPL behind.
I am enjoying the PSL, I don’t have any need for the IPL. I’m not interested in it and never was.
A number of international players who featured in this edition of PSL agreed that they would rather feature in PSL than IPL, if both competitions were being played at the same time.
On the other hand, likes of Ravi Bopara, Imran Tahir and Dwayne Smith have all praised the quality of Pakistan’s domestic league. They added that bowling attacks are ferocious, batting is simply sublime whereas the fielding is filled with agility.
Speaking about Pakistan national team’s T20 performance, former captain Waqar Younis also targeted IPL and stated:
The reason why our team is number 1 in T20Is is because they don’t participate in IPL. Because of not playing IPL, our boys are down to earth and they want to play international cricket.
Pakistan cricket is all set to aim great things in the near future thanks to the efforts made by Pakistan cricket management. The recent development made in this regard is Pakistan extending invitation to England to come and play a series on home soil.
Quotes via Saj Sadiq
