
Cricket is hugely followed in rival countries India and Pakistan. Both these countries have their own domestic T20 leagues. Being each others’ rivals, an obvious question always pops up. Who has the better T20 league and a detailed comparison of IPL vs PSL is always done.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) is a professional Twenty20 cricket league in India. It is officially known as Vivo Indian Premier League for sponsorship reasons. The tournament is contested during the months of April and May in every year.
The teams which play in the IPL represent Indian cities and some states. The league was founded by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) in 2008. The league is considered as the brainchild of Lalit Modi. He is the founder and former commissioner of the league.
The Pakistan Super League (PSL) is a professional Twenty20 cricket league in Pakistan. It is officially known as HBL Pakistan Super League for sponsorship reasons. This tournament is contested during the months of February and March in every year.
PSL doesn’t operate as an association of independently owned teams. Rather the league is a single entity in which each franchise is owned and controlled by investors.
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Foundation And History (IPL vs PSL)
IPL
In 2007 the Indian Cricket League was founded which was funded by Zee Entertainment Enterprises. But it failed to get recognition from ICC and BCCI, and was considered a rebel league by the board.
On 13th September 2007, then BCCI vice-president Lalit Modi announced the launch of a franchise-based T20 cricket league and named it IPL. It was also announced that the IPL would be run by a seven-man governing council composed of former India players and BCCI officials.
Modi also clarified that IPL was not started as a “knee-jerk reaction” to the ICL. The league’s format was similar to that of the Premier League of England and the NBA in the United States.
PSL
In September 2015, the PCB officially announced the launch of the PSL. Former Pakistan national team captains Wasim Akram and Rameez Raja signed up to promote the PSL and become brand ambassadors of the league for three years.
After several years of planning and two previous failed attempts, the league officially began on 4 February 2016 in the United Arab Emirates. There Bakhtawar Bhutto-Zardari, alongside Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, inaugurated the opening ceremony.
Player Acquisition Method (IPL vs PSL)
IPL
A team can acquire players through any of the three ways. The annual player auction, trading players with other teams during the trading windows, and signing replacements for unavailable players. Players sign up for the auction and also set their base price. They are then bought by the franchise that bids the highest for them.
Some of the team composition rules (as of 2018 season) are as follows:
- The squad strength must be between 18 and 25 players, with a maximum of 8 overseas players.
- Salary cap of the entire squad must not exceed Rs. 80 crore.
- Under-19 players cannot be picked unless they have previously played first-class or List A cricket.
- A team can play a maximum of 4 overseas players in their playing eleven
PSL
The league uses a draft system for player recruitment. This is similar to that used in many North American professional sports leagues. As a result it opposes to the auction system used in some other T20 leagues.
Teams (IPL vs PSL)
IPL
Team | Owners | City | Homeground | Debut | Current Coach | Current Captain |
Chennai Super Kings | India Cements | Chennai, Tamil Nadu | M.A. Chidambaram Stadium | 2008 | Stephen Fleming | MS Dhoni |
Delhi Capitals | GMR Group, JSW Group | Delhi, NCR | Feroz Shah Kotla Ground | 2008 | Ricky Ponting | Shreyas Iyer |
Kings XI Punjab | Preity Zinta, Ness Wadia, Mohit Burman, Karan Paul | Mohali (Chandigarh), Punjab | PCA Stadium, Mohali | 2008 | Mike Hesson | Ravichandran Ashwin |
Kolkata Knight Riders | Shah Rukh Khan (Red Chillies Entertainment), Juhi Chawla, Jay Mehta (Mehta Group) | Kolkata, West Bengal | Eden Gardens | 2008 | Brendon McCullum | Dinesh Karthik |
Mumbai Indians | Mukesh Ambani, Nita Ambani (Reliance Industries) | Mumbai, Maharashtra | Wankhede Stadium | 2008 | Mahela Jayawardene | Rohit Sharma |
Rajasthan Royals | Manoj Badale | Jaipur, Rajasthan | Sawai Mansingh Stadium | 2008 | Paddy Upton | Steve Smith |
Royal Challengers Bangalore | United Spirits | Bengaluru, Karnataka | M. Chinnaswamy Stadium | 2008 | Simon Katich | Virat Kohli |
Sunrisers Hyderabad | Sun TV Network | Hyderabad, Telengana | Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium | 2013 | Trevor Bayliss | Kane Williamson |
Pune Warriors India and Kochi Tuskers Kerala joined the IPL before the fourth season in 2011. After one year, on 11 November 2011, Kochi was terminated following the side breaching the BCCI’s terms and conditions.
Pune Warriors India withdrew from IPL on 21 May 2013 because of financial differences with the BCCI. Later the team was officially terminated on 26 October 2013.
The 2009 champions, Deccan Chargers were terminated on 14 September 2012. This is because of their failure to find new owners. The team was replaced by Sunrisers Hyderabad.
On 14 June 2015, Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals were suspended for two seasons. This is because of their roles in a match-fixing and betting scandal. They were replaced by Rising Pune Supergiant and Gujarat Lions for two seasons.
PSL
Team | City/Province | Owner | Founded | Home ground | Captain | Coach |
Islamabad United | Islamabad, Capital Territory | Leonine Global Sports | 2015 | Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium | Shadab Khan | Dean Jones |
Karachi Kings | Karachi, Sindh | ARY Group | 2015 | National Stadium | Imad Wasim | Brendon McCullum |
Lahore Qalandars | Lahore, Punjab | Qatar Lubricants Company | 2015 | Gaddafi Stadium | Mohammad Hafeez | Mahela Jayawardene |
Multan Sultans | Multan, Punjab | Ali Tareen & Taimoor Malik (Multan Consortium) | 2017 2018 | Multan Cricket Stadium | Shoaib Malik | Mike Hesson |
Peshawar Zalmi | Peshawar, Khyber Pakthunkhwa | Haier Pakistan
| 2015 | Arbab Niaz Stadium | Darren Sammy | Mohammad Akram |
Quetta Gladiators | Quetta, Baluchistan | Omar Associates | 2015 | Bugti Stadium | Sarfraz Ahmed | Moin Khan |
Team’s Performances (IPL vs PSL)
IPL

PSL

Franchise Cost (IPL vs PSL)
IPL
The eight teams of the Indian Premier League have paid the BCCI a sum of $723.5 million. This amount is the franchise fees in 2018 to acquire rights for the respective city-based teams.
Rising Pune Supergiant and Gujarat Lions had to pay INR 16 crore and 10 crore respectively for the two years 2016 and 2017.
PSL
The Pakistan Cricket Board sold the rights of the first five teams for $90.45 million in 2015. Ahead of the third edition in 2018, they sold the Multan Sultan franchise for eight years at $41.6 million.
Auction Purse And Title Sponsors (IPL vs PSL)
IPL
In the auction of 2018, the eight franchises had a purse of INR 80 crore each. They used it to buy and retain the players they wish to feature in the team.
The title sponsorship rights of the IPL was acquired by the Chinese smartphone company Vivo in 2016. They gained it for the next five years by shelling $439.8 million (INR 2199 crore).
PSL
The Pakistan Cricket Board has allowed the franchises a cap of approximately INR 7.76 crore ($1.2 million) for the players draft.
The PSL sponsorship rights have been bought by Habib Bank Limited (HBL) for three years at $64.7 million, i.e. $6.6 million a year.
Comparison In Salaries Of Players (IPL vs PSL)
In IPL, players are auctioned above a set base price and the highest bidder gets the services of the player. The average salaries is US$4.33 million per year. In PSL, players are divided into different classes and are bought through draft system.
Platinum class players earn a base salary of US$140,000. Diamond class players earn US$70,000. Gold class players earn $50,000. Silver class players earn $25,000 and Emerging players earn $10,000.
Awards And Champions Prize Money (IPL vs PSL)
IPL
In the 2019 season of the IPL, the league offered a total prize money of Rs 50 crore (US$ 7.2 million). The winners received Rs 20 crore (US$ 2.9 million). The first and second runners-up received Rs 12.5 crore and Rs 8.75 crore respectively.
The fourth-placed team received Rs 8.75 crore. The other teams were not awarded any prize money. Apart form that the orange cap is awarded to the leading run-scorer. The purple cap is awarded to the highest wicket-taker.
PSL
PSL for the season three will reward the champion team with $1 million whereas the overall prize money on offer is $3.5 million.
The Hanif Mohammad award and a green cap are awarded to the leading run-scorer. The Fazal Mahmood award and a maroon cap are awarded to the leading wicket-taker. The Imtiaz Ahmed award is awarded to the best wicket-keeper.
Duration Of The Tournament (IPL vs PSL)
The IPL has 8 franchises, whereas, the Pakistan Super League has 6 franchises. Lesser franchises mean that the PSL will have just 34 matches. On the other hand the IPL has 60 matches and is played over a period of 50+ days.
Media Rights (IPL vs PSL)
After the first decade of the IPL, the Indian board put up the broadcast and digital media rights for auction. There Star India bagged the five-year deal with the highest bid of INR 16,347 crore ($2.5 billion).
The Pakistan Super League, on the other hand, managed to sell the rights for domestic and international broadcast for $15 million.
Profits (IPL vs PSL)
Ahead of the 11th season of the IPL, BCCI declared that they had operational surplus worth INR 2017 crore in their bank ($31.2 million).
After the second season of the PSL, PCB stated that they made surplus worth $1 million.