BBC Sport has named the Pakistan Super League (PSL) the world’s second most entertaining men’s franchise cricket tournament, placing it just behind the Indian Premier League (IPL) in global rankings.
The BBC Sport report, released earlier this week, analyzed major T20 and short-format franchise competitions, including the IPL, PSL, South Africa’s SA20, Australia’s Big Bash League (BBL), the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), the UAE’s International League T20 (ILT20), and England’s The Hundred.
The study was conducted in collaboration with the cricket analytics company CricViz and evaluated a range of performance and entertainment-related metrics.
The evaluation considered factors such as the average number of fours and sixes per match, batting strike rates, the percentage of games decided in the final over or ball, home advantage trends, wicket-taking patterns, and the average number of international caps among starting XIs.
According to the findings, the PSL led all leagues in average first-innings scores, recording 180 runs per match, which was one run higher than the IPL’s 179. In terms of close finishes, 27.5% of PSL matches were decided in the final over, second only to the IPL’s 28.9%.
It also ranked second in boundaries per game, again trailing only the IPL.
When measuring player quality through international experience, the PSL averaged 351 international caps across the starting XIs, the second-highest among the leagues surveyed. The ILT20 topped this category with an average of 423, boosted by its higher allowance for overseas players.
The BBC report emphasized that the PSL provides quality, thrill, and high scores, consistently producing competitive matches and attracting leading international cricketers.
In the “Entertainment Index,” which aggregated performance across the measured metrics, the IPL was the top-ranked league with a score of 4.53 out of a maximum of five, followed by the PSL with a score of 3.90. The ILT20 (2.44) was third, with England’s The Hundred placing fourth, followed by the CPL in fifth, and the SA20 in sixth. The BBL finished last.
Launched in 2016, the PSL has quickly grown into one of the most prominent franchise leagues in the cricketing world. It features six city-based teams and has established a reputation for generating thrilling contests, fast scoring rates, and providing opportunities for emerging Pakistani talent to compete alongside and against some of the sport’s biggest names.
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