A he Indian Premier League (IPL) and the Pakistan Super League (PSL) are essentially going head-to-head by taking place simultaneously. At this point, some foreign players have played in both competitions.
As a result, players have been asked how each one is different. Their views have brought up interesting views.
South Africa batter, Rilee Rossouw, who is currently playing for PSL side, Quetta Gladiators, made a stunning remark on the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Most overseas stars reckon that IPL, hands down, is the best tournament in the world and no other T20 league comes close to the entertainment and competition. However, South Africa's Rilee Rossouw, who is representing the Quetta Gladiators, offered a contrary opinion, saying the PSL offers fiercer competition.
Rossouw, who has earlier represented the Punjab Kings, Delhi Capitals and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB) in the IPL, said that the Indian tournament is more of a movie because of the involvement of the Bollywood stars, while PSL is more about cricket.
In a video that has surfaced on social media, he claimed that the PSL was more competitive than the IPL and added that the IPL is a long tournament with a lot of backing from Bollywood. As a result, he said that the tournament becomes “more of a movie” than “actual cricket.”
"The IPL is a very long tournament and the PSL is a much more compact tournament where the competition is a lot more fierce. The IPL obviously has the whole Bollywood backing it, so it's a lot more of a movie than actual cricket," he said.
Rossouw played 22 matches in the IPL, scoring 473 runs at a strike rate of 153.57 and a best score of 82*. He made his league debut in 2014, while he last played in the tournament two years ago in 2024.
Earlier, the Pakistan Cricket Board's (PSL) policy of allowing its employees to work with franchises in the PSL has come under scrutiny after former captain, Misbah ul-Haq, confirmed he was involved with Peshawar Zalmi as a consultant.
The PCB at the start of the PSL had stopped Sarfaraz Ahmed and Wahab Riaz from working with the Quetta Gladiators franchise.
The board said under its policy former players who were on the PCB payroll were not allowed to work in the PSL in any capacity as it was a conflict of interest.
Misbah defended his involvement with Peshawar Zalmi despite being a paid national selector and batting consultant with the PCB. "I had signed a contract with Zalmi before I became national selector and I only work for them as consultant on given days in a season," Misbah told the media wearing the Peshawar Zalmi kit.
Asked how he got permission from the PCB to work in the PSL when Sarfaraz who was with him on the selection committee and Wahab were stopped from working with Quetta Gladiators, Misbah said his case was different and the PCB can best explain this.
Misbah who has also remained the national team's head coach and chief selector and has been in and out of the PCB in some capacity since 2019 said as a national selector it was helpful for him to work closely in the PSL and watch the young players in action.
"When you watch and observe them up close and see how they react to a particular situation it becomes easier for you to take decisions as a national selector," he said.
Earlier, Australian spinner, Adam Zampa, had also explained why he prefers the PSL over the IPL, saying he pulled out of the latter's auction because he doesn't get the money equal to his skill set.
"I pulled out of the IPL this year. To be brutally honest, for someone with my skill set, I just don’t get the money that others with other skill sets do. And for the amount of time that the IPL takes, it just didn’t seem like a reasonable choice for me to keep playing it," Zampa said on the ARY Podcast.
"I was going to have a break, but PSL was on the radar about a month ago. It all happened pretty quickly, but I’m enjoying it," Zampa added.
Zampa, who is currently representing the Karachi Kings in the PSL, has played 22 matches in the IPL, but has not become a regular member of the playing XI. He represented four teams in the tournament since 2016.
A reporter took the million-dollar question of an overseas player preferring one league over the other to the press conference on Saturday. Speaking to Sri Lanka's Kusal Mendis, who joined Peshawar Zalmi this season, the reporter asked if he had any regrets over leaving the PSL last year midway to join the Gujarat Titans in the IPL. The question produced an awkward moment in the press room, prompting the moderator to intervene.
Kusal, who was signed by Peshawar Zalmi ahead of the PSL 2026 season, played 8 matches for Quetta Gladiators last season before leaving the tournament midway citing security concerns.
He then flew to India and joined Gujarat Titans in the IPL 2025 play-offs as a replacement player. Ahead of the auction for the IPL 2026 season, GT released him and the player failed to find another franchise for this year's campaign.
He returned to the PSL this year, joining the Peshawar franchise and has done well with the bat, scoring 241 runs in just 4 matches.
The reporter asked: "Last year you withdrew from the PSL to play IPL midway through the tournament. This year they didn't pick you. Don't you have any regrets for leaving PSL?"
Caught off guard, Kusal Mendis responded with an awkward laugh, clearly not expecting such a question in a post-match setting.
The moderator then intervened and asked the reporter to ask questions only on PSL and the Peshawar Zalmi match. The reporter then said that the question is about PSL.
Mendis, however, refused to respond and remained silent until another reporter's turn came.
With the IPL and the PSL happening around the same dates, overseas cricketers often have to choose one between the two. However, there's no real rivalry between the two T20 leagues as IPL offers both money, competitiveness and popularity that no other cricket league in the world can.
As has often been the case, overseas cricketers only join the PSL if they aren't picked in IPL auction. In fact, just like Kusal's case was last year, there have been instances where a few players chose to leave the PSL after joining a franchise if an IPL team came calling.
With all the glitz and glamour, it does seem like the IPL is like a movie. A 2 month competition is a bit strenuous. I mean no offense to any IPL fans reading this but the longevity is a bit tiring.
I much prefer compact competitions because it's always intense and there's a feel that anything can happen. The prolonged break can cause irritation and frustration.