The Pakistan Super League (PSL) has been named the second most exciting cricket league in the world by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), just behind the Indian Premier League (IPL).
In a recent report, BBC Sport — in partnership with cricket data experts CricViz compared top T20 and short-format leagues, including the IPL, South Africa’s SA20, Australia’s Big Bash League (BBL), the Caribbean Premier League (CPL), UAE’s International League T20 (ILT20), and England’s The Hundred.
The review looked at key entertainment factors such as:
- Average runs per innings
- Number of fours and sixes
- Matches decided in the final over or ball
- Home advantage
- Wicket-taking patterns
- International experience of players in the starting XI
According to the data, PSL had the highest average first-innings total at 180 runs slightly ahead of the IPL’s 179. It also had 27.5% of matches going to the last over, second only to the IPL’s 28.9%, and ranked second in average boundaries (fours and sixes).
In terms of player experience, PSL teams averaged 351 international caps, again second to ILT20, which benefits from a high number of overseas stars.
The BBC report praised the PSL for delivering high-scoring thrillers with participation from world-class cricketers.In the “Entertainment Index” which combines all performance metrics the IPL scored 4.53 out of 5, PSL came second with 3.90, ILT20 was third with 2.44, followed by The Hundred, CPL, and SA20, with the BBL at the bottom.
Since starting in 2016, the PSL has grown into a major global T20 event, featuring six city-based teams, fast-paced matches, nail-biting finishes, and a platform for young Pakistani talent to play alongside top international names.
