PSL Ranked Among Most Exciting Cricket Leagues Globally

The Pakistan Super League (PSL) has secured its position as the second most captivating men’s franchise cricket league on a global scale. This assessment comes from an analysis conducted and shared by BBC Sport, which places the PSL just behind the Indian Premier League (IPL) in the overall standings.

The BBC Sport’s study, which came out recently, delved into significant T20 and shorter-format franchise tournaments. These included the IPL, PSL, SA20 in South Africa, Australia’s Big Bash League (BBL), the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), the UAE’s International League T20 (ILT20), and The Hundred in England.

This comprehensive study was a joint effort with CricViz, a cricket analytics firm, utilizing a variety of performance and entertainment-oriented metrics.

The assessment took into account several elements, such as the typical number of fours and sixes hit per match, batting tempo, how frequently matches were decided in the last over or delivery, home advantage patterns, the nature of wicket-taking, and the average count of international caps within starting lineups.

Key findings indicated that the PSL topped the charts in average first-innings scores, achieving 180 runs per match, slightly edging out the IPL’s 179. Regarding closely contested matches, the PSL saw 27.5% of its games decided in the final over, a figure second only to the IPL’s 28.9%.

The PSL also secured the second spot in terms of boundaries per game, again surpassed only by the IPL.

When evaluating player experience via international appearances, the PSL boasted an average of 351 international caps across its starting elevens, marking the second-highest figure among the surveyed leagues.

The ILT20 led in this metric with an average of 423, benefiting from its increased allowance for international players.

The BBC report noted that the PSL delivers top-tier quality, excitement, and high scores, consistently offering competitive, high-scoring games while attracting prominent international cricketers.

In the “Entertainment Index,” which combined scores across all metrics, the IPL emerged as the leader with a score of 4.53 out of 5, followed by the PSL with a score of 3.90.

The ILT20 (2.44) ranked third in the entertainment index, with The Hundred from England in fourth, the CPL in fifth, and SA in sixth. The BBL was last.

Since its inception in 2016, the PSL has rapidly become a leading franchise league in cricket. It features six teams representing different cities and is known for its exciting matches, rapid scoring, and for giving emerging Pakistani players opportunities to compete with and against some of the sport’s biggest names.