Former Pakistan cricketer Wasim Akram has taken a dig at the duration of the Indian Premier League (IPL). While promoting the Pakistan Super League (PSL), Akram mocked the length of the world’s biggest T20 league, joking that a person’s kids grow up but the tournament still does not end.
Akram also cited the Big Bash League (BBL) as an example. The Australian competition began with just 31 matches in the 2011-12 season but expanded to 61 games in the years that followed. However, Cricket Australia (CA)
has since reduced the tournament to 44 matches over the past couple of seasons.
The IPL stretches across two months, whereas the BBL concludes in roughly 40 days, the same duration as the PSL. The PSL, however, features 60 matches compared to the IPL’s 74. It is worth noting that the IPL currently hosts 10 teams, while the BBL has eight and the PSL six, which naturally affects the total number of fixtures.
“Bacche bade ho jate hain, woh league khatam hi nahi hoti (Kids grow up, but the league just keeps running),” Akram said during a PSL promotional event held at the Lord’s Cricket Ground.
“The best thing about the league is that it is played for only about 34–35 days, maybe a little more next year. A prime example is the BBL. They started off with two and a half months. They realised after four or five years it wasn’t working. Now their duration is about 40 days. That’s it. That’s the beauty of the PSL,” he added.
Akram further claimed that the PSL features more talented domestic players than the IPL. The former fast bowler, now a globally renowned commentator, stated that it is a widely held belief that Pakistan consistently produces more naturally gifted talent, whereas India excels in developing high-quality, well-polished players.
“Of course, the talent. Everybody overseas, when I talk to them, they talk about bowling in the IPL and other leagues. They say the PSL, as far as talent is concerned, is definitely No. 1 because we have quality, not quantity,” said Akram.
