'You want me to say something silly?' says Sam Billings on IPL, PSL comparison

KARACHI: Lahore Qalandars’ wicketkeeper-batter Sam Billings, who has participated in three editions of the Indian Premier League (IPL), recently grabbed attention for his candid comments about the global T20 circuit.

During a media interaction, Billings was asked to compare the Pakistan Super League (PSL) with the IPL. In response, the English cricketer wittily remarked that it's hard to ignore the IPL's status as the premier T20 league in the world.

"You want me to say something silly? It's hard to look past the IPL as the premier competition in the world, it's very obvious , every other competition is just behind. In England (T20 Blast and The Hundred), we are trying to do the same like PSL as the second best competition in world, Big Bash (BBL) too trying to do the same," Billings said.

The 33-year-old, who last featured for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the 2022 IPL season, is currently in impressive form in the ongoing Pakistan Super League (PSL).

After being dismissed for a duck in Lahore Qalandars’ opening match, he bounced back with a blistering, unbeaten 50 off just 19 balls against Quetta Gladiators.

In their latest fixture, Lahore Qalandars registered a commanding 65-run victory over Karachi Kings at the National Bank Stadium.

Batting first, the Qalandars posted a formidable total of 201/6, thanks to half-centuries from Fakhar Zaman and Daryl Mitchell. Sam Billings also made a quick impact with a valuable 19 off 10 balls during the death overs, helping the side recover despite a four-wicket haul by Karachi’s Hasan Ali.

In reply, the Kings suffered an early collapse as skipper David Warner and James Vince—who had scored a century in the previous match—were both dismissed for two-ball ducks in a fiery opening spell by Shaheen Afridi.

Tim Seifert and Shan Masood offered brief resistance, each scoring 18 runs.

Karachi's batting order continued to unravel, losing seven wickets for just 50 runs. Khushdil Shah fought back with a gritty 39 off 27 balls, but it wasn't enough.

A late stand with Hasan Ali helped Karachi reach 136 before being bowled out in 19.1 overs.

The emphatic win marked Lahore’s second consecutive away victory, following their opening loss to Islamabad United.

Lahore Qalandars will next face the Multan Sultans, led by Mohammad Rizwan, in another away fixture scheduled for April 22.