American Premier League set to recreate India-Pak rivalry in 2nd edition

Houston, Dec 2 (IANS) The 2nd edition of the American Premier League is all set to recreate the India-Pakistan rivalry at Moosa Cricket Stadium in Houston, Texas on December 24, hoping to catch eyeballs all around the world. 

The rivalry match between Premium Indians and Premium Paks will be named as 'Super Match'.

The Premium Indians team will be represented by fast bowler S. Sreesanth and all-rounder Stuart Binny while Sohail Tanvir, Usman Qadir and Fawad Alam will play for Premium Paks.

The 'Super Match' between Premium Indians and Premium Paks will be a delight for the fans’ not just in the USA but across the world as S. Sreesanth will look to relive the memory of the 2007 ICC T20 World Cup final in South Africa when he took Sohail Tanvir’s wicket in the 17th over. 

“It still feels like yesterday when I was running into bowl against Pakistan in Jo'burg and took the winning catch. Playing against Pakistan and winning has been a real high for me. I am really looking forward to playing the 'Super Match' against Premium Paks and hopefully, I will help Premium Indians come on top this time as well," Sreesanth was quoted as saying in a release on Saturday.

Tanvir, the left-hander from Pakistan who was the top-wicket taker in the first edition of the Indian Premier League, said, “Playing against India is always special for me as I made my T20 as well as Test debut against them in 2007. You are overwhelmed with emotions and nervousness while playing against them and I am really excited that I’ve got another opportunity to represent Pakistan in a rivalry match.”

A total of seven teams -- Premium Afghans, Premium Americans, Premium Aussies, Premium Canadians, Premium Indians, Premium Paks and Premium Windies -- will be participating in the 13-day tournament that runs from December 19 to 31. 

Each team will have a minimum of one and maximum of two national players to represent their country while every 15-member team squad will have 9 local (American) players mandatory as per the ICC guidelines. A maximum of six international players will be allowed in the playing XI.  

Jay Mir, Founder and CEO of APL said, “The idea is to give fans a unique experience every time they tune into the APL and having a match between Premium Indians and Premium Paks is one of them. Having the stalwarts from both the countries will surely see a high-intensity cricketing action.”

The inaugural season of American Premier League (APL), a Twenty20 cricket league based in the United States, took place during the spring of 2021 in New Jersey with seven teams Americans, Indians, Paks, Windees, Bengalees, Aussies and English taking part. Before the announcement of the 2nd edition, the league was sanctioned by the International Cricket Council (ICC), in May this year and the USA Cricket board. 

--IANS

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