CHENNAI, India, (Reuters) – The Internat-ional Cricket  Council (ICC) has urged U.S. 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.cric info.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.”