ICC principal adviser IS Bindra has urged the United States Cricket Association to develop a Twenty20 tournament on the lines of the Indian Premier League to counter the unauthorised American Premier League, which is set to roll out in October.
“I feel that regulation is not the only way to curb unapproved ventures. You need to have a successful alternative, too, like how the BCCI developed its Premier League as a viable model (to the ICL),” Bindra said.
“There have been some ad-hoc attempts to organise some leagues and events in the US, but none of them happened on an official platform and were poorly planned efforts.”
Bindra, who is entrusted with the task of developing the game in the grassroots level in US, said having an IPL-style tournament will generate funds for the purpose.
“The ICC has advised cricket officials in America to install an IPL model to capitalise on the Twenty20 boom and generate funds for the game’s grassroots development in the USA,” Bindra told said.
“Like IPL, they should look at private ownership for teams, each of which can have a mix of foreign and local players. Initially, to get the league going, they can have more foreign players in a playing XI, more than the four allowed in an IPL team. Then, as the league picks up interest, they can look at increasing the local element,” Bindra said.
“What we are looking at is a top class event that will be fully backed by the ICC and will have some top international players,” he said.
“As we see it, many international players, except those from England, are usually free from May to September. This space could be utilised,” Bindra said, he would follow the developments during ICC’s meeting in Dubai on May 17 and 18.
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