The world's most popular T20 league is the Indian Premier League (IPL). With the exception of Pakistan, it includes well-known foreign players. Eleven players from Pakistan competed in the league's first season, which took place in 2008. However, because of the political tensions between the two countries, Pakistani players were prohibited from participating in the lucrative competition.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) launched its T20 franchise competition a few years later. In 2016, the Pakistan Super League (PSL) played its inaugural season. There has been discussion about which league is superior as the PSL has changed over time. Many contend that the PSL offers far superior quick bowling.
But because of the availability of well-known players and the quantity of cricketers it has produced who have played for India, the IPL continues to be the best. In terms of revenue, however, the IPL is much ahead of the PSL. Whether it is prize money, player salary, or purses given to the teams, the budget is far larger. People frequently compare the earnings of major players on social media, particularly during IPL auctions.
IPL
IPL started in the year 2008. So when it comes to the budget, it was Rs 100 crore in the year 2024. Whereas now it has become 120 crores. A total of 10 teams participate in IPL. The most expensive player of IPL 2025 is Rishabh Pant, who was bought by Lucknow Super Giants for Rs 27 crore, making him the most expensive player in history. At the same time, Shreyas Iyer became the second most expensive player, who was bought by Punjab Kings for Rs 26.75 crore. Each team has 8 foreign players and a squad of 25 players.
PSL
Talking about the Pakistan Super League, the tournament is starting from April 11. Defending champions Islamabad United will face two-time champions Lahore Qalandars in the first match of the season to be held in Rawalpindi on April 11. A total of 34 matches will be played at four venues - Rawalpindi, Lahore, Karachi and Multan. Rawalpindi will host 11 matches while Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium has been allotted 13 matches of PSL 2025, and Karachi and Multan will host five matches each this season.
The entire league works on a draft system, where teams place players in Platinum, Gold, Silver and Emerging categories. At the same time, players get salaries in different categories which include Platinum (2.30 crores), Diamond (1.15 crores), Gold (82.30 lakhs), Silver (41.15 lakhs), and Emerging (16.46 lakhs). The most expensive player of Pakistan Super League 2025 is David Warner who got Rs 2.5 crore.
PSL vs IPL Prize Money
Talking about IPL prize money, the winning team gets Rs 20 crore. For IPL 2024, the BCCI has distributed Rs 46.5 crore among the winners, runners-up and top-performing teams and players. IPL 2024 champions KKR won Rs 20 crore, and their runners-up Sunrisers Hyderabad got Rs 13 crore.
While Rajasthan Royals got Rs 7 crore and Royal Challengers Bangalore got Rs 6.5 crore for finishing third and fourth. Compared to the prize money of PSL 2024, winners Islamabad United got Rs 4.13 crore, while runners-up Multan Sultans went home with Rs 1.65 crore. Even the total prize money of PSL 2024 is less than WPL 2024 winners RCB, who got Rs 6 crore.
IPL vs PSL viewership
JioCinema, the official streaming platform of Tata IPL, concluded a spectacular season of the cricket league with record-breaking viewership. The platform reached 26 billion views during the IPL 2024 season, marking a 53 per cent growth from last year. The company said JioCinema's second season of IPL streaming saw a watch-time of over 350 billion minutes, with viewers spending an average of 75 minutes per session, up from 60 minutes last year. At the same time, the ninth edition of the PSL saw an estimated 350 million live viewers watch the matches and the viewership on the digital platform was 1.5 billion.