ICC urges US officials to fight rebel league

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has urged US officials to set up a Twenty20 competition on the lines of the Indian Premier League to counter the unauthorised American Premier League.

Last month the American Sports and Entertainment Group announced the launch of the APL, with players drawn from major cricketing nations and especially those signed by the unauthorised Indian Cricket League (ICL).

The inaugural edition is to be held in New York in October.

"I feel that regulation is not the only way to curb unapproved ventures," the ICC's principal advisor Inderjit Bindra told the Cricinfo website (www.cricinfo.com).

"You need to have a successful alternative, too, like how the BCCI (Indian cricket board) developed its Premier League (IPL) as a viable model (to the ICL)," added Bindra, who is also a member of the IPL's governing council.

The second edition of the money-spinning IPL is currently being staged in South Africa after the Indian government said it could not provide security as the dates clashed with the country's general elections.

Bindra, who has been assigned by the ICC to help develop cricket in the United States, said he would discuss the idea of a professional league with USA Cricket Association officials during a meeting in Dubai this month.

"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."