Come October 6th and America will be ignited with the splinters of a new sport. Yes, the South Asian community is hooked to cricket but by and large, the sport that has caught the imagination of commonwealth countries since long will be running on a virgin territory here. Staten Island in New York is all decked up. Already, a minor-league baseball ground is being converted. 10000 seats have been arranged. If all goes according to the plan, Jay Mir, the man behind the show, would find the stadium packed on the inaugural day.

The stadium has a picturesque setting with the Statue of Liberty peeping over it and mighty Hudson flowing beneath it. It is a rare sight and something along the lines has hardly been witnessed even in countries where cricket is an extravaganza. Accelerated recruitment is underway and already many legends of the game have been hired in some capacity or another.

If there is Richard Hadlee as the executive consultant and Richie Richardson as chief recruiter, there is also a strong coach line-up boasting of former greats like John Emburey and Richardson once again. Players are being siphoned off from the ICL fold with lucrative offers. Many retirees are also going to make their presence felt. APL is brightening up with the presence of players like Martyn, Gillespie, Astle, Parore, Harris, Boje, Klusener, Hall, Hollioake, Hicks, Saqlain and Inzamam.

Here is wishing the American cricketing revolution all the success that it deserves.

APL is aiming to revolutionize cricket in America. Jay Mir, the man behind the show, is suggesting something along the lines. Jay feels that America certainly needs to get connected with the game and thus this period marks a crossroads in its sporting history.

Jay Mir is ferociously recruiting players, coaches, board members, consultants, panelists and others. Though ICC claims the tournament to be completely unsanctioned and has bestowed it the status of another Rebel League, it is still to dawn on Mir’s ambition. He is hunting for players from across the globe.

Already many from the ICL fold have capitulated to his lucrative deals. Also, retired players from the past are looking to make merry. Jason Gillespie and Damien Martyn are a couple of players who contributed a lot towards Aussie supremacy of late 1990’s and early 2000’s. Jason is being confirmed for the Premium World team.

He feels a little peeved at ICC trying to nip APL in its budding stage. He feels that the game will be the eventual winner and fetch greater glory through APL. Cricket in America is not being given a chance. Past ventures have failed and its only urgent that something along the lines of APL is given a stage.

Jason Gillespie does not have a vested interest. He is hardly bothered by the banned status he might fetch from ICC as he has already retired from international cricket and has had his fair share of cricketing glory. All he feels is that IPL is trying to sabotage any aspirant that is trying to spread cricket beyond the periphery of its monetary interest.

American Premier League is set to don the hat of other cricketing leagues (read ICL and the illustrious IPL). Though America has been nowhere near to being the cradle or hub of cricket, its south Asian population has impregnated the craze for the sport in the country. To make cricket a household stuff, sponsors have chosen to bring forth the American Premier League.

The league will have international teams like Premium India, Premium Pakistan, Premium World, and Premium America and Premium West Indies. The greatest surprise comes in the form of 7 Pakistani cricketers. It is widely believed in cricketing circles that players having ICL engagements cannot play for other leagues. ICL dismissed such suggestions clarifying that players from Pakistan were welcome to play anywhere if their contracts do not collide with ICL engagements.

If sources are to be believed, the players were themselves not much enthused about ICL. Inzamam along with six others will play for APL. The names include seasoned cricketer like Saqlain Mushtaq and fresh bloods like Rana Naved Ul Hasan, Imran Farhat and Imran Nazir.

Even if ICL were to contest the issue, the fact that they have called off the event this year would have brought more dubiousness to their appeal. The rebel league has suggested liquidity crisis for suspending the event.

American Premier League will be host at the Staten Island and the scenic stadium (converted from a baseball stadium) will be right alongside river Hudson and Statue of Liberty.

Cricket has developed into a true global sport. It has been followed rather seriously in places where it hasn’t even touched shores. There was a time when the one-day version was scoffed at as poor man’s bat-and-ball game. Today, time constraint and the expanding need of entertainment have brought cricket festivities like T20 on the surface. Ever since its inception into the fold of cricket, Twenty20 has won many accolades. The inaugural world cup has been a major hit and IPL in its very first year has performed beyond expectations.

To please its South Asian contingent and bring the fan following of the game to America, a few sponsors have joined hands to host the American Premier League. It’s the American version of T20 and does not differ from the game barring the setting. Six teams will participate in the venture and the list includes Premium Pakistan, Premium Indians, Premium West Indies, Premium World and Premium America.

Jay Mir, the CEO of American Sports And Entertainment Group Inc, believes that the inaugural edition due to be played at Staten Island in New York will bring forth an unprecedented craze for the game and certainly break borders and seduce American masses too.

Already, Richie Richardson is being hired as chief recruiter. He would also don the hat of West Indian coach. Apart from him, APL has signed Nicke Boje, Lance Klusener and Andrew Hall for exorbitant sums. For the uninitiated, their national sides have expelled these three players for becoming a part of Rebel League. This indirectly means that other rebel players might find a lot of support and deals with APL too. To emphasize the essence of this point, 7 Pakistani players have already been signed by APL. The names include Inzamam, Rana Naved Ul Hasan, Imran Farhat Imran Nazir and Saqlain Mushtaq, once a top-draw Pakistani cricketer.

The matches will be played at a baseball field that has been duly restructured keeping the model of cricket stadiums in mind. It is a picturesque ground that is being set against the majestic backdrop of river Hudson and Statue of Liberty.

The format is rather simple. Each team will meet their adversaries once in the league matches. This will be followed by semifinals and Best-of-three finale. The sponsors fear that despite razzmatazz, the charm of the game might fizzle in absence of star cricketers and hence they have tried to wrap the event in a moderate space of time.

Cricket is most certainly amidst its phase of greatest glory. It has been amply proved that Test Cricket (ultimate test of endurance) can co-exist with one-day format and T20. It is for APL to bring some entertainment to the recession-hit country. Its success would determine how sponsors rally around for hiring players in future. It is believed by many cricket freaks that APL may give tough competition to IPL in the near future.