First played in 2016, the Pakistan Super League (PSL) has quickly become one of the top franchise competitions in world cricket, with a growing fanbase and increasing brand value. Not only does it highlight Pakistan’s best talent, but it also attracts international stars, lured by the attractive salaries and the chance to compete against some of the best players globally. While the Indian Premier League (IPL) still dominates the headlines, the PSL is rapidly gaining ground! Let’s look at PSL vs IPL below:
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PSL vs IPL: PSL has a higher viewership percentage
Prima facie, the PSL still cannot compete with the IPL, which has a head start of eight years in terms of establishing itself. However, beneath the bare numbers, the comparative populations of the two countries should be considered. Pakistan’s population of 253 million is just 17% of India’s, yet the percentage of people who watch the PSL is higher – 60% – than Indians who claim to watch the IPL. – 35%. Factor in also the fact that there is a substantial minority of Pakistanis who do not have access to television or the internet, and the figures are even more remarkable.
PSL vs IPL: PSL stands out for its competitiveness
Comparisons between leagues are difficult. In the past, tournaments like the Champions League allowed champions from various leagues to compete against each other, something the recently inaugurated Global Super League has attempted to revive. Unfortunately, due to the BCCI’s parochialism, Indian teams were not allowed to compete in it. However, evidence suggests that the PSL teams are just as competitive as any playing in the Indian Premier League, mainly because some of the biggest overseas stars can be found playing in both.
The PSL can claim an advantage in the competitiveness of its tournaments. Although ten franchises currently compete in the IPL and five others have participated in the past, less than half of these have ever won it, and some have not even made the final.
Every franchise competing in the Pakistan Super League has won the trophy at least once in their history. And, for the neutral, that inherently makes it more appealing.
PSL vs IPL: Budget
Each team in the Pakistan Super League is given a salary purse of US $1.2 million.
For the 2025 IPL, each team was allocated a budget of US $6 million to spend on players. This money is then spread between the sums earmarked for retentions and the purse left over to spend in the IPL auction held this year in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Average salaries
In 2024, the average salary in the Pakistan Super League was US $66,667 – US $61,824 for a Pakistani domestic player and US $77,206 for one from overseas. However, there was a considerable disparity between players in the platinum bracket, where salaries typically are US $150,000, and those classified as Emerging, where players earn as little as US $7,500.
Salary ranges in the IPL are even more extreme. Headlines were made when the Lucknow Super Giants bought Rishabh Pant for US 2.8 million in the 2025 mega auction. Pant will be entitled to all of that – before taxes – for playing for the franchises next season; however, for every Pant, there is a legion of domestic Indian players who will earn around US $10,000 next season. That can make it hard for the average man in the street to identify with IPL stars.
PSL vs IPL: Brand Value 2025
Whilst various criteria can be used to measure brand value, the IPL is currently estimated at over US $16.4 billion, compared to US $ 160 million for the PSL. Those figures, though, disguise that the rate of increase in the PSL’s brand value is greater than that of the IPL. A primary example of this is the amount that Habib Bank Limited (HBL) has paid to be the title sponsor of the PSL. For the first three years of the tournament, it was US $5.2 million a year; that increased to US $ 14.3 million for the next three years. The current cycle, which ends in 2025, sees HBL pay US $22.2 million for the right to be the lead sponsor, a 400% increase over the original sum. They can expect to pay even more if they want to continue the arrangement from 2026 and beyond.
It also suggests that the PSL offers a better opportunity from a marketing and commercial viewpoint. There is still room to grow in their league, perhaps by adding more franchises.
There is also additional space for growth in terms of advertising revenue with the PSL, while media rights can be expected to increase further in the next round of bidding. The media rights for the IPL 2023 – 2027 cycle sold for US $6.2 billion, while those for the PSL fetched just US $36 million.
PSL vs IPL: Winning Prize
- PSL Winners: Islamabad United (trophy prize: US $650,000)
- PSL Runners-up: Multan Sultans (trophy prize: US $ 200,000)
- IPL Winners: Kolkata Knight Riders (trophy prize: US $2,400,000)
- IPL Runners-up: Sunrisers Hyderabad (trophy prize: US $1,560,000)
PSL vs IPL: Prize money in the last four seasons
1. PSL
- 2021 – Winners US $425k; Runners-up US $180k.
- 2022 – Winners US $500k; Runners-up US $200k
- 2023 – Winners US $500k; Runner-up US $200k.
(It should be noted that there was an increase in prize money in local currency between 2022 and 2023, but currency depreciation flattened this out when expressed in US $.)
- 2024 – Winners US $650k; Runners-up US $200k.
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2. IPL
Prize money in the IPL has not increased since 2018, with the winners continuing to receive the equivalent of US $2.4 million. The sum that the runners-up get has increased, but that is only marginally (from US $1.5m to US $1.56m).
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PSL vs IPL: Viewership
Domestic viewership for the 2024 PSL exceeded 150 million, which is remarkable in a country where only 76% of the population has access to a television. It suggests that nearly 75% of the population watched at least one match.
In India, an estimated 500 million people watched some of the 2024 IPL until the knock-out stages (figures began dropping off once some teams were eliminated).
One area where the PSL outstrips the IPL is digital viewership, with former head of the Pakistan Cricket Board Najam Sethi claiming that the 2023 tournament had 150 million digital views compared to the IPL’s 130 million.
Both leagues can claim to have many more fans globally, with both leagues shown on broadcasters in more than 150 territories worldwide.
Size is not everything
Whilst the IPL continues to dwarf the PSL, size is not everything. The PSL has contributed to the strength of the Pakistan national team by raising competitive standards and attracting more money into the game. Arguably, the IPL has had the opposite impact on international cricket, with players turning down central contracts with their countries for a lucrative few weeks in India.
Meanwhile, the BCCI has shown that it is scared of the competition posed by the PSL and other leagues around the world by forbidding Indian players to compete in overseas leagues until they have actually retired. The PCL can claim to be more inclusive.
The need to succeed in the IPL is so intense that younger, domestic players can often find themselves squeezed out, with franchises preferring to recruit expensive recruits from abroad rather than take a risk on inexperienced local talent. By contrast, the PSL has more room for the untried to make a name for themselves. Budget constraints mean that PSL teams cannot afford to match some of the salaries found in the IPL. There is a greater emphasis on homegrown players, with whom the fans can identify more closely.
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FAQs
1. What is the next worth of PSL?
If the combined net worth of the PSL team is added together, this amounts to US $2.6 billion. That, however, does not account for the value of the PSL brand name, marketing rights, and other commercial revenue streams.
2. Who is the richest PSL boss?
Whilst all but one of the PSL teams are technically owned by industrial groups, some wealthy individuals are among them. The richest of these is Shadab Khan, who also happens to be the youngest owner in the PSL. His net worth is estimated at US $240 million.
3. What is better, IPL or PSL?
There is no objective answer to this question. Whilst the IPL continues to dominate the headlines, the standard of cricket is no better, and arguably, the PSL is more competitive. Whilst there still remain a number of franchises – even those that were among the original founders – that have never won the IPL, every team competing in the PSL has won it at least once. That means that fans of every franchise begin each season of the PSL believing this could be their year again, something denied to some of the less well-off teams in the IPL.
Wealth disparities in the IPL make this much less likely to happen.