American Premier League Set To Recreate India-Pak Rivalry
HOUSTON, TX (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 a ‘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 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 said.
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 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.
The inaugural season of the American Premier League, a Twenty20 cricket league based in the US, took place during the spring of 2021 in New Jersey with seven teams.