IPL started in the year 2008. So when it comes to the budget, it was Rs 100 crore in the year 2024. Whereas now it has become 120 crores.
The Indian Premier League (IPL) is hands down the biggest and most exciting T20 league in the world. It brings together top cricketing talent from across the globe—except for players from Pakistan. Back in 2008, the inaugural season did see 11 Pakistani cricketers in action.
But since then, due to political tensions between India and Pakistan, they’ve been barred from participating. While the league continues to grow, featuring international stars and delivering high-octane entertainment, Pakistani players remain absent from the IPL stage.
A few years after the IPL took the world by storm, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) introduced its own T20 league—the Pakistan Super League (PSL). The first season kicked off in 2016, and since then, debates have sparked over which league reigns supreme.
While IPL stands as the gold standard of franchise cricket, some argue that PSL has carved out a niche with its fast-bowling talent. But when it comes to global reach, financial muscle, and sheer star power, IPL remains in a league of its own!
The IPL remains the top T20 league due to its star-studded lineup and the number of Indian players it has produced. Financially, it far surpasses the PSL—whether in prize money, player salaries, or team budgets.
Every year, IPL auctions draw attention as fans compare the massive contracts of top players, highlighting the league’s unmatched financial dominance.
IPL
The IPL, launched in 2008, continues to dominate T20 cricket, both in talent and financial power. In 2024, the team budget was ₹100 crore, which has now increased to ₹120 crore. With 10 teams competing, the 2025 IPL auction saw record-breaking deals—Rishabh Pant became the most expensive player ever, bought by Lucknow Super Giants for ₹27 crore, followed by Shreyas Iyer, picked by Punjab Kings for ₹26.75 crore. Each team has a 25-player squad, including 8 foreign players.
PSL
In contrast, the PSL follows a draft system with player salaries capped at ₹2.3 crore for the highest category. The 2025 season starts on April 11, with Islamabad United taking on Lahore Qalandars. Despite PSL’s growing fanbase, the IPL remains far ahead in scale, competition, and financial strength, proving why it’s the world’s premier T20 league.
PSL vs IPL Prize Money
Talking about IPL prize money, the winning team gets Rs 20 crore. For IPL 2024, the BCCI has distributed Rs 46.5 crore among the winners, runners-up and top-performing teams and players. IPL 2024 champions KKR won Rs 20 crore, and their runners-up Sunrisers Hyderabad got Rs 13 crore.
While Rajasthan Royals got Rs 7 crore and Royal Challengers Bangalore got Rs 6.5 crore for finishing third and fourth. Compared to the prize money of PSL 2024, winners Islamabad United got Rs 4.13 crore, while runners-up Multan Sultans went home with Rs 1.65 crore. Even the total prize money of PSL 2024 is less than WPL 2024 winners RCB, who got Rs 6 crore.
| League | Winner Prize (₹) | Runner-up Prize (₹) | Total Prize Pool (₹) | Third Place (₹) | Fourth Place (₹) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IPL 2024 | 20 crore (KKR) | 13 crore (SRH) | 46.5 crore | 7 crore (RR) | 6.5 crore (RCB) |
| PSL 2024 | 4.13 crore (IU) | 1.65 crore (MS) | Less than 6 crore | N/A | N/A |
| WPL 2024 | 6 crore (RCB) | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
IPL vs PSL viewership
JioCinema, the official streaming platform of Tata IPL, concluded a spectacular season of the cricket league with record-breaking viewership. The platform reached 26 billion views during the IPL 2024 season, marking a 53 per cent growth from last year.
The company said JioCinema’s second season of IPL streaming saw a watch-time of over 350 billion minutes, with viewers spending an average of 75 minutes per session, up from 60 minutes last year. At the same time, the ninth edition of the PSL saw an estimated 350 million live viewers watch the matches and the viewership on the digital platform was 1.5 billion.