Former Pakistan cricketer Khurram Manzoor has expressed his opinion on the comparison between the Indian Premier League (IPL) and the Pakistan Super League (PSL). He argued that it is unfair to compare the two leagues as the financial investment in players is vastly different. Khurram also pointed out that the quality of cricket in the PSL is superior to that in the IPL.
“You cannot compare IPL to PSL because Quetta Gladiators was sold for PKR 8 Cr in the first season and Sam Curran alone cost Punjab Kings INR 18 Cr, equivalent to PKR 50 Cr,” said Khurram. “The quality of cricket in PSL is better than IPL. In PSL, every team has four bowlers who can bowl at 90MPH while in IPL, there is hardly one bowler per team who can clock at 90MPH,” he maintained.
Khurram also stated that his own performance in List A cricket is better than that of Indian cricketer Virat Kohli, but he has been overlooked by the national team. “My conversion rate in List A cricket is better than Virat Kohli; I take fewer innings on average to score a hundred than Kohli. Kohli scores a hundred after every six innings, I score a hundred after every 5.7 innings, but I have no idea why I have been ignored,” said Khurram.
Khurram Manzoor also highlighted that the PSL has a better standard than IPL in terms of the size of the boundaries, as the boundaries in PSL are 75m while in IPL are 60m. He also said that PSL pitches have more variety than IPL, which makes the PSL a more challenging and exciting league for players and fans alike.
In addition to this, Khurram Manzoor also made a comparison between the current national team captain, Babar Azam and former captain Sarfaraz Ahmed. He said that Sarfaraz Ahmed is a better decision-maker than Babar Azam as he has more experience, having led the team to victory in the U19 World Cup, the Champions Trophy and 11 series in a row. He also pointed out that Pakistan was ranked No.1 in T20Is under Sarfaraz and he also won the PSL title with Quetta. However, Khurram Manzoor acknowledged that Babar Azam is still learning as a captain and it shows on the field.
Lastly, when asked about coach Mickey Arthur, Khurram Manzoor said that there is liking and disliking here. He said that when Mickey Arthur came in 2016, he chose 30 players from Pakistan and decided to keep playing them only, and he was not one of those 30 players. He also said that despite his performances, Mickey Arthur never considered him for selection and he believes that his non-selection is due to coach’s preference. He also added that Bangladesh offered him nationality in 2009, and they wanted him to represent Bangladesh, but he always wanted to play for his country.
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