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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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