Ex-RCB star brands IPL ‘a movie’; fans react ‘PSL is more competitive that, Pakistan gets eliminated…in ICC tournament’

South African batter Rilee Rossouw ignited the Indian Premier League (IPL) vs Pakistan Super League (PSL) debate once again by comparing the Indian tournament with a “movie”. Having played for four IPL franchises in the past without success, Rossouw, who last played for the Proteas in 2023, is currently plying his trade in PSL for Quetta Gladiators.

In a recent interview, the left-handed Rossouw drew attention with his bizarre remark while elaborating the pros and cons of the leagues. The 36-year-old also stated that PSL is more entertainment-driven while PSL offers fierce on-field competition.

“IPL is a very long tournament, and PSL is a much more compact tournament where the competition is a lot more fierce. IPL obviously has the whole Bollywood backing it, so it's a lot more of a movie than actual cricket,” said Rossouw, who had played for Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Delhi Capitals and Punjab Kings during his time in IPL.

Since the start of IPL, Bollywood (Hindi film industry) has played a big part. While actors Shahrukh Khan and Juhi Chawla co-own the Kolkata Knight Riders franchise, Priety Zinta owns the Punjab Kings franchise. Shilpa Shetty had also owned the Rajasthan Royals franchise for a good number of years.

Notably, PSL was born eight years after IPL came into existence in 2008. It's no secret that in terms of competitiveness and quality, PSL are way behind than IPL. Meanwhile, Rossouw's comments didn't go well with the fans.

“PSL is more competitive that, Pakistan T20 side gets eliminated in the group stage itself in ICC tournament,” mocked one user on X (formerly Twitter) after Rossouw's comments. “Movie than actual cricket? Man ask your countries legends about ipl. The thing is you ain't getting selected in ipl that's why you're so salty,” another said.

"Why are they so obsessed with IPL. No one asks any IPL player to compare bw these leagues. Every year same story. Jab inke dimag me hi inferiority complex hai toh kuch nhi ho skta inka," one user said.

How has IPL helped Indian cricket?

The introduction of IPL has helped Indian cricket massively. After the introduction of IPL, the Indian team won the T20 World Cup twice (2024 and 2026), ended as runners-up once (2014) and made it to the semifinals in 2016 and 2022. In comparison, since the PSL started in 2016, Pakistan were runners-up in 2022 and made it to the semifinals in 2021. However, the Men in Green exited in the group stage in 2024.

Rilee Rossouw in IPL & PSL - All you need to know

Rossouw was first picked in IPL in 2011 by RCB but made his debut only in 2014, and played five matches for the Bengaluru franchise. Post 2015, Rossouw had to wait for eight years to get an IPL deal with Delhi Capitals, where he played nine games without success. He was a part of Punjab Kings side in 2024 season, finishing as runners-up. In 22 IPL matches, Rossouw managed 473 runs at an average of 23.65.

Rossouw is a regular in PSL, having been a part of the tournament since the start. He made his debut for Quetta Gladiators and moved to Multan Sultans after his first three seasons. The South African returned to Quetta Gladiators after spending four seasons with Multan Sultans. Overall, Rossouw is just one short of playing a century of PSL games, scoring 2366 runs, including three hundreds and 11 fifties.

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