Wahab Riaz and Virat Kohli
The Indian Premier League (IPL) is at a different level and no league can compete with it, said Pakistan speedster Wahab Riaz while drawing comparisons between India's top-tier T20 tournament and his country's Pakistan Super League (PSL).
The 35-year-old pacer, who represented Pakistan in 27 Tests, 91 ODIs, and 36 T20I, also highlighted the presence of 'top international players' in the IPL and the lucrative league's functioning.
“IPL is a league where all the top international players come and play. You can’t compare IPL with PSL, I believe IPL is at a different level. Their commitments, the way they run things, communicate things, the way they draft the players, that is totally different.
"I don’t think any league can compete with the IPL, but if there is any league that stands behind it, it has to be the PSL. The League in Pakistan has proved it,” Riaz said during the interview with Cricket Pakistan’s YouTube Channel.
While Wahab was all praise of the IPL's structure and potency, he picked the PSL as the league with better bowling standards. He pointed how the PSL usually doesn't have too many high-scoring games.
The IPL and the PSL currently stand postponed amid the worldwide COVID-19 crisis, with boards of both the cricket-obsessed nations trying to host the remainder of the tournament later this year.
“The standards of bowling are quite high. The kind of bowlers you get in the PSL is not found in other leagues, not even in the IPL. This is why PSL doesn’t have many high-scoring games. The bowling attacks in PSL are the best in the world,“ Riaz said.
Riaz, who last donned the Pakistan jersey last year against New Zealand, also pointed flaws in his country's team management, saying that the selectors judge players based on 'one or two' performances.
"It has been the norm in Pakistan that any player selected is judged based on one or two performances. I think the previous performances and hard work of the player should be kept in mind. Everyone has good and bad days.
A player can give better performances if they are supported in both good and bad times. I think this is something that definitely needs to improve. Hopefully it will be better with time," he said
