MUMBAI: The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Tuesday has turned down the request of Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) to allow them to host the Afghanistan Premier League in India.
A BCCI official told PTI it would be inappropriate to allow them to host APL here, given that India has its own league.
ACB officials had conveyed their desire to organize APL in India to BCCI CEO Rahul Johri and GM Cricket Operations Saba Karim during a meeting on May 16.
ACB CEO Asadullah Khan had also asked for a third home ground in India after Dehradun and Greater Noida and on that front, the BCCI has no issues. Lucknow is likely to be their third home ground in India.
“Since Dehradun doesn’t have a five-star hotel, hosting teams is an issue. We would prefer it to be Lucknow,” Khan told PTI.
The inaugural edition of Afghanistan Premier League was held in Sharjah last year with five teams participating. The tournament, which was won by Balkh Legends, saw some of the stalwarts of cricket playing in it. Players like Chris Gayle, Brendon McCullum, Ben Cutting, Shahid Afridi, Colin Ingram and Colin Munro had graced the first edition of APL.
