With the Pakistan Super League (PSL) and Indian Premier League's (IPL) set to clash this time around, veteran pacer Hassan Ali has expressed his confidence that fans and viewers would "leave" IPL for PSL.
Usually, the PSL takes place between February and March. But it was moved to the window of April and May this year due to Pakistan's jam-packed international calendar. As a consequence, Pakistan's top T20 tournament ended up clashing with the ongoing 18th edition of the IPL.
Although IPL is widely regarded as the best T20 league in the world, Hassan is optimistic that viewers will prefer to watch PSL if the players rise to the occasion.
"Fans watch the tournament where there's good cricket with entertainment. If we play well in the PSL, viewers will leave the IPL to watch us," Hassan told reporters, as quoted from Geo News ahead of the PSL opener on Friday.
Hassan, who will represent the Karachi Kings in the 10th edition of PSL, also shared his thoughts on Pakistan's recent listless performance in international cricket.
Under the leadership of Mohammad Rizwan, the Men in Green suffered a group-stage exit from the home Champions Trophy after losing to New Zealand and India.
Subsequently, Pakistan travelled to New Zealand for a white-ball tour, consisting of five T20Is and three ODIs. While the visitors lost the T20I series 4-1, they faced a 3-0 whitewash in the ODI series.
"When the national team doesn't perform well, it impacts franchise leagues like the PSL. But when Pakistan do well, the PSL's graph also rises," Hassan remarked.
"The current results aren't great, but we have fresh faces in the team and also in management who need time. The players know where they went wrong and where to improve," he said while backing the youngsters.
(With ANI Inputs)
