You can’t compare IPL with PSL, I don’t think any league can compete with the IPL: Wahab Riaz

Wahab Riaz has come out praising the Indian Premier League and called it more superior to his country’s T20 competition, Pakistan Super League. The 35-year-old pacer has been involved in the PSL ever since its inaugural season. He is currently the all-time highest wicket-taker in the league. He also explained the factors which make IPL better than PSL. 

During a recently shot interview, the left-arm seamer talked about the presence of the top international players in the IPL and credited that to be one of the major reasons why it stands out. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has over the years created a window for top international players to feature in the league, after talks with every other major cricket board.

PSL, on the other hand, mainly recruits international players who are not in the regulars for their country or play in one format or so. Riaz also pointed out that the way IPL drafts players are also different. In IPL, player auctions are held ahead of the season, which lets the player get the maximum salary, based on his demand. On the other hand, PSL uses a system of the draft, which has players getting categorized under a salary bracket, with each category having a specific salary that runs across the teams. 

If there is any league that stands behind IPL, it has to be the PSL: Wahab Riaz

“IPL is a league where all the top international players come and play. You can’t compare IPL with PSL, I believe IPL is at a different level. Their commitments, the way they run things, communicate things, the way they draft the players, that is totally different. I don’t think any league can compete with the IPL, but if there is any league that stands behind it, it has to be the PSL. The League in Pakistan has proved it,” Riaz said during the interview with Cricket Pakistan’s YouTube Channel. 

However, Riaz further said that the bowling standards in the PSL are the best in any league in the world. He also said that when it comes to bowling units, then PSL might even be better than IPL. He cited this as the reason why PSL doesn’t see a lot of high-scoring matches. 

“The standards of bowling are quite high. The kind of bowlers you get in the PSL is not found in other leagues, not even in the IPL. This is why PSL doesn’t have many high-scoring games. The bowling attacks in PSL are the best in the world,“ Riaz said.