Inaugural edition of Andhra Premier League slated to start on June 22

In a big development on May 21 (Saturday), the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) gave their go-ahead and granted permission to Andhra Cricket Association’s (ACA) proposal of conducting the inaugural edition of the Andhra Premier League (APL) in Andhra Pradesh. The announcement was made by the treasurer of ACA S.R Gopinath Reddy and other senior members of the local cricket administration on Saturday.

The first edition of the tournament of Men’s APL is slated to start on June 22 (Wednesday) and the final match of the tournament will be played on July 3 (Sunday). Similarly, the Women’s APL will start on June 28 (Tuesday) and the final match of the first edition will be played on the same day as the men’s final. As per ACA officials, all the men’s matches would be played in Visakhapatnam.

A total of 19 games will be played in the men’s phase with the first four teams qualifying for the next round and subsequently the finals. The timings are from 9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m for the doubleheaders and the final along with the qualifiers will take place under floodlights from 6 p.m. to 9:30 p.m

The matches will be telecasted on television and digital platforms: ACA treasurer Gopinath Reddy

A total of 500 players will go under the hammer in the auction and each of the six teams can pick 20 players. The treasurer Reddy had said that the local board made all the necessary arrangements and was hopeful that the tournament would be a grand success.  “Soon, ACA would announce the tenders for franchise applications (expression of interest) and later conduct auctions. Franchises and players would be informed well before the scheduled program,” treasurer Gopinath Reddy was quoted by The Hindu.

“The tournament would showcase many talented cricketers. The matches would be live telecast on televisions and digital platforms ( OTT ). The league will also financially benefit both the players and the franchisees. Revenue can be also generated through advertisements. ” he added.