Is IPL too long? Pakistan's Wasim Akram takes dig at Indian league, says ‘kids grow up, but the league keeps running'

Wasim Akram took a subtle dig at the Indian Premier League (IPL) at the duration of the world's richest franchise tournament. The Pakistan legend's remarks came during a promotional event of Pakistan Super League (PSL) at the Lords' cricket ground in the United Kingdom and mocked that kids would grow but the league doesn't end.

A bowling coach once at three-time champions Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), Akram remarked that IPL's duration is a bit too much for every player, especially the foreign cricketers. “The best thing about the league (PSL) is that it is played for only about 34–35 days, maybe a little more next year," Akram said, the video of which went viral on social media.

“It's not like three months, the other league. I mean bacche bade ho jate hain, woh league khatam hi nahi hoti (the kids grow up but the league doesn't end)," added Akram. “So the foreign players, who come to Pakistan or any league, they prefer to be there for 30-40 days.”

The former Pakistan pacer cited Australian Big Bash League (BBL) as a prime example of how the organisers realised that a franchise league for such long duration can exhaust the players. The BBL started off with just 31 matches in 2011-12. It was expanded to 61 matches in the next few years before Cricket Australian cut down the BBL to 44 matches now.

"Two and a half, three months is bit too long for everyone. Even I get bored watching the league. A prime example is the BBL. They started off with two and a half months. They realised after four or five years it wasn’t working. Now their duration is about 40 days. That’s it. That’s the beauty of the PSL,” elaborated Akram.

Akram's connection with IPL came in 2010 when he was appointed as the bowling coach-cum-mentor of KKR. Under Akram's guidance, the likes of Indian pacers Mohammed Shami and Umesh Yadav honed their skills, who went on to represent India at the top level.

Last season, the IPL started on March 22, and was scheduled to end on May 25 initially. But the Indian-Pakistan border conflict resulted in seven-day as it finally ended on June 3. On the other hand, the PSL was originally slotted a April 11 to May 18 window. But due to Indo-Pak tensions, the final of PSL was played on May 25.