Houston, Dec 8 (IANS): Chris Gayle has been announced as the captain for the Premium Windies team for the American Premier League’s (APL) second season to be played at Moosa Cricket Stadium here from December 19 to 31.

Out of the six other teams that will be playing in the tournament, former India pacer S. Sreesanth will lead the charge for the Premium Indians, Sohail Tanvir will captain Premium Paks, current captain of the Afghanistan team Mohammad Nabi will guide the Premium Afghans while Australian all-rounder Ben Cutting will handle the captaincy for the Premium Aussies.

"I am excited to wear the captaincy band of a Windies team again. Playing in America is like playing at home. Cricket as a sport had to find a place in the USA someday and this is the best time to have a league like this."

"The tournament will not just give us an opportunity to show our experience to the local fans but all the young American cricketers who have qualified, will get to learn a lot from this and take the game to the next level," said Gayle.

Dan Lawrence, the rising star from England who made his Test debut in Sri Lanka at the start of 2021, has been named as the captain for the Premium Americans who will take on the Premium Windies in the opening game of the season.

Punjab-born Canadian Navneet Dhaliwal who came into the limelight recently after leading Canada in the ICC WT20 qualifiers and took his side to ICC T20 World Cup 2024, will captain the Premium Canadians in his neighbourhood nation.

Gayle was one of the key players to launch the APL at the iconic Times Square in New York a couple of months ago along with the league owners and other international stars like Fawad Alam (Pakistan) and Ravi Bopara (England).

The tournament begins with a clash between Premium Wildies and Premium Americans while Premium Indians will open their campaign on December 20 against the Windies.