Success of PSL has severely damaged the IPL, claims Tauseef Ahmed

Tauseef Ahmed, a member of the national selection committee of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), has recently hinted that the PSL is a bigger event than the IPL. The Indian Premier League is currently in its 10th edition and is running at full throttle. On the other hand, the Pakistan Super League is only two editions old as of now. Despite the clear disparity in the stature of the two tournaments, Tauseef Ahmed has made some bold remarks.

As per the quotes in the Express Tribune, he went on to say that the PSL has inflicted ‘severe damage’ on the IPL. Clearly, he seems to be in a state of verbal war with the Indian counterparts regarding the popularity of the two leagues. He credited the supreme position holders of the PCB for making the PSL a grand success in the two editions of the tournament.

“A country (India) has been organizing such a league for six or seven years, but we have only staged it twice and results are there for all to see. Our PSL has, in my opinion, inflicted severe damage on their league, and the credit goes to everyone including both Najam Sethi and Shaharyar Khan,” quoted Tauseef Ahmed.

He further commented on how the PSL has helped the Pakistan cricket unearth new talents in the first two editions of the tournament. Last year, players like Muhammad Nawas and Muhammad Asghar had come to the limelight. This year, the tournament brought Shadab Khan to the fore. The young leggie has already made a leapfrog start to his international career.

“The PSL gave us new talent such as Muhammad Nawaz, Muhammad Asghar before and now Shadab Khan. These players have already played under so much pressure in PSL that the stress of international cricket doesn’t overwhelm them,” he quoted.

Tauseef remarked that the last few years have not been the easiest for the Pakistani team. Now, they are in the phase of rebuilding it. He hopes for the things to only get better and better for them in the years to come.

“As a cricketer and as a Pakistani, I can say that these last seven, eight years have been incredibly difficult. Our cricket has been damaged and everyone knows who was behind it. Now, it’s our job to rebuild it,” he conceded.