IPL is the biggest cricket tournament in the world, they've put in a lot of money: Wasim Akram

Since its inception, the Indian Premier League has grown by leaps and bounds and emerged as one of the premier global T20 leagues. The T20 extravaganza, over the years, has been a huge success, setting benchmarks for other leagues across the globe.

Pakistan legend Wasim Akram recently rated the IPL as the best cricket tournament in the world. Akram, who has worked with the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) as a coach, also pointed out differences between the IPL and the PSL. The Pakistan stalwart highlighted that the staggering amount of money involved in the Indian leagues makes it a better one over PSL. He also praised the BCCI for investing the money generated from the IPL in enhancing domestic cricket’s infrastructure.

“There is a difference now (between IPL and PSL). In the last five-six years, there has been a big difference. They have put in a lot of money. IPL is the biggest cricket tournament in the world,” Akram told Tanveer Ahmed on his YouTube channel.

“A team’s budget only is around 60-80 Cr to buy players…Indian currency…double in our currency. So when profit is made on that kind of money BCCI invests it back into first-class cricket,” he added.

Most players in IPL have personal coaches: Wasim Akram

The IPL has given birth to many match-winners, who eventually paved their way into the national side. The likes of Hardik Pandya, Krunal Pandya, Jasprit Bumrah and Deepak Chahar are some of the prolific talents discovered by the cash-rich league. Akram also pointed out that appointing former cricketers as coaches has also helped India unearth and nourish talent in IPL.

“Most players in the IPL have their personal coaches, like Praveen Amre. They have hired such kind of former cricketers who have gone on to become good coaches. You look at their batsmen, they play with such high confidence. The system is completely different,” Akram further said.

The much-awaited thirteenth edition of the IPL, which was initially slated to start from March 29th, was postponed indefinitely due to COVID-19 pandemic. However, the tournament is all set to take place in the September-November window this year, with the BCCI shifting it to a new venue altogether– UAE. BCCI will decide on the final schedule of the tournament in the IPL GC meeting later this week.