PSL Ranked World’s Second Most Entertaining Cricket League By BBC

Ranking, prepared in collaboration with cricket analytics firm CricViz, compared major T20 and short-format franchise tournaments, including the IPL, South Africa’s SA20, Australia’s Big Bash League (BBL), Caribbean Premier League (CPL), UAE’s International League T20 (ILT20), and England’s The Hundred

KARACHI: (UrduPoint/UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News-August 9th, 2025) The Pakistan Super League (PSL) has been ranked as the world’s second most entertaining cricket league, behind only the Indian Premier League (IPL), according to a recent BBC Sport report.

The ranking, prepared in collaboration with cricket analytics firm CricViz, compared major T20 and short-format franchise tournaments, 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 analysis evaluated leagues based on multiple performance and entertainment metrics such as average fours and sixes per match, batting strike rate, proportion of matches decided in the final over or ball, impact of home advantage, wicket-taking trends, and the average number of international caps among playing XIs.

Statistically, the PSL recorded the highest average first-innings score per match (180 runs), narrowly ahead of 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%. The PSL also ranked second in average number of boundaries struck per match.

In terms of international experience, PSL teams averaged 351 international caps, the second-highest in the survey. The ILT20 led this category due to a higher proportion of overseas players.

The BBC report highlighted PSL’s ability to produce thrilling contests and big scores, with consistent high-scoring matches featuring some of the world’s leading cricketers.

On the “Entertainment Index,” which combined all performance metrics, the IPL topped the list with a score of 4.53 out of 5, followed by the PSL with 3.90. The ILT20 (2.44) ranked third, The Hundred fourth, CPL fifth, SA20 sixth, while the BBL came last.

Since its inception in 2016, the PSL has rapidly grown into one of the most prominent franchise leagues on the cricket Calendar, featuring six city-based teams and earning a reputation for explosive scoring, nail-biting finishes, and providing young Pakistani talent the opportunity to compete alongside global stars.