ICC warns players against joining American Premier League

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has warned current and former international cricketers against signing up for the proposed American Premier League (APL), the Daily Times reports.A statement issued by the ICC, clearly states that the APL, being organised on the lines of the Indian Premier League (IPL), would not be authorized by the ICC and would have the same status as the rebel Indian Cricket League (ICL).All ICL players have been banned by their respective cricketing boards from taking part in any international or domestic events.Earlier, it was reported that former Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq was planning to join the APL.Inzamam had also confirmed that he and seven other ICL Lahore Badshah players had received an invitation from US-based entrepreneur Jay Mir in this context.Mir, the CEO of American Sports And Entertainment Group Inc, has come up with a six team American Premier League (APL) to be held in October on Staten Island in a baseball converted cricket field.Mir hopes to develop the APL on the lines of the famous IPL with the same franchise and auction system, and build up six teams namely Premium Pakistan, Premium Indians, Premium West Indies, Premium World and Premium America.The Pakistan player wish list of Mir also includes names of Imran Nazir, Imran Farhat, and also Mohammad Asif, who is currently facing a ban from international cricket on charges of drug smuggling.