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ACA to rope in leading broadcaster for APL

By Sports Reporter

GUWAHATI, Sept 8 - With the much fancied Assam Premier League (APL) set to be organised early next year, the Assam Cricket Association (ACA) is planning to rope in a leading broadcaster with worldwide telecast of the matches.

�We are planning to rope in one of the top broadcasters. It will be telecasted in the satellite television and will have a worldwide telecast of the matches. We are in talks with three of them and will soon finalise one,� said ACA secretary Devajit Saikia.

Asked regarding the status of proceedings, Saikia said: �We are at a very nascent stage. We have floated an advertisement seeking expression of interest. We have a Governing Council which was constituted on August 4. Under the new constitution, apart from the Apex Council who are holding the regular cricket events for the association, for holding the premier league, like the BCCI for IPL has a Governing Council likewise every State should have a separate body consisting of seven members who will conduct the state premier leagues.�

Three management firms have filed bids to host the proposed tournament early next year.

�The Governing Council will conduct the Assam Premier League. Several companies and agencies have shown interest and finally we have shortlisted three � one from Kolkata, one from Mumbai and the other one from Delhi. We are negotiating the terms and conditions.�

The APL is likely to be organised from February 18 and will be a 10-day or 15-day event.

�The APL will be held during the window when the BCCI tournaments will be over and before the start of the IPL. So we will have a window of about 30 to 40 days to organise the tournament.�

The tournament will be organised in a bid to provide match exposure to players and produce players who could make their way into the IPL. The secretary however is cautious regarding the franchise allotment process.

�Under the constitution the players should be from the State itself. There will be six teams and in each team there will be a minimum of 20 players. A total of 120 players will be in the pool and we are also trying to find franchises.

�It is a challenging task as we will have to be very careful regarding their credentials, especially their honesty and integrity and they shouldn�t be indulging in any kind of corrupt activities. We have to be very cautious in every step. A proper protocol needs to be laid down and an Anti-Corruption Unit will be in place,� he concluded.

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