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North                      The Indian Eye

                               AmERIcANNewsline






         18                                                                                                                         OCTOBER 01, 2021

                                                    AMERICAN PREMIERE LEAGUE

             apl t20 league ends in a disaster with



                controversy over most valuable player





              Premium Windees beat Premium Paks in the final but walk away without


                                        collecting the trophy and the winners’ cheque


        our Bureau
        Little Falls, NJ

                day of exciting cricket and
                celebrations ended in a
       A huge disaster on Thurs-
        day when the final game between
        Premium Windees and Premi-
        um Paks ended amidst a con-
        troversy as the winners walked
        away in protest over the naming
        of Most Valuable Player (MVP)
        of the tournament. Though Pre-
        mium Windees won the game as
        they reached the target of 156 in
        19.2 overs with seven wickets in
        hand, they refused to receive the
        trophy.  Premium  Paks,  batting  rank in the points table. Since  the APL organizers announced  tertainment Group headed by
        earlier, had scored 156 for 8 in  it is very unusual for the MVP  that the management will take  Jay Mir, the APL had Twenty20
        20 overs.                            honor going to a player whose  up the matter in one week even  cricket, where each team plays
            The easy win should have led  performance didn’t even help  as team owners left the place in  20 overs — or innings, made up
        to celebrations in the Windees  his team reach the later stages  furious mood with great disap- of six pitches each. There were
        camp. But a controversy erupted  of the tournament, the naming  pointment after an otherwise  five batters per game, with each
        over the MVP honor. The Wind- of Keaton immediately evoked a  good cricket league.                            playing a maximum of four overs.
        ees team left the ground at the  protest from the Windees team.              With the tournament ending
        Yogi Berra stadium in protest           Interestingly,  the  real  valu- in a fiasco, the team owners are         wINNERs GIvEN
        after arguing that their star bats- able player of the tournament,  demanding a meeting as most
        man Raunaq Sharma should be  Rahkeem  Cornwall  of  Premi- are upset because of a suspicion                          thE tRoPhy
        given the coveted prize of MVP  um Indians who had made the  that Tom Keaton was unfairly                            hile going to the press
        of the first edition of the Ameri- highest scores with unmatched  chosen as the MVP by the panel              Won Friday,  The  Indian
        can Premiere League (APL).           batting, was excluded from con- that included Jay Mir.                    EYE learned that the Pre-
            Amid tension running high on  sideration for MVP because                 APL was launched last             mium  Windees  were  final-
        the ground, the Windees players  he had to pull out of semi-final  month as a new cricket league               ly given the winners’ trophy
        demanded that Sharma, whose  against Windees after he re- in the US. The inaugural tour-                       at a small gathering. While
        brilliant performance helped the  ceived  a  letter from the  West  nament was held at Yogi Berra              the details of the event were
        team beat Premium Indians in  Indies cricket board to not play.  Stadium in Little Falls, NJ from              not immediately available
        the  first  semi-final  and  emerge  The letter from the West Indies  September 20 to 30, with seven           as there was no information
        victorious in the finals, be given  board came as the US Cricket  cricket teams, each named af-                about it on the APL website,
        the prize. But the APL promot- Board too got into dispute with  ter the communities across the                 some photos shared on so-
        er Jay Mir said the prize would  APL for non-payment  of some  world who love cricket: Premi-                  cial media suggest that the
        go to the Australian player Tom  amount as per their contract.  um Americans, Premium Auss-                    Windees team might have ac-
        Keaton. The Aussie batsman  The permission from the US  ies, Premium Windees, Pre-                             cepted the winners’ cup and
        had scored the highest number  Cricket Board was a major driver  mium Paks, Premium Indians,                   cheque, while the MVP issue
        of runs in the tournament but his  for the sales of teams and mar- Premium English and Premium                 probably remains unresolved.
        team didn’t even make it to the  ket recognition for the franchise. Bengalees. Owned and operat-
        semi-finals and was at the lowest       As the controversy raged on,  ed by American Sports and En-              Continued on next page... >>


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