Qureshi lauds the arrival of Minor League
Minor League Cricket finally reached the United States on Saturday July 31 and it has brought a smile on the face one of the greatest American cricket administrators Mahammad Qureshi.
The Toyota Minor League has been spiced up by the inclusion of many cricketers from the Caribbean. Included among them are Navin Stewart, Rayad Emrit, Stephen Katwaroo, Rajendra Chandrika, Ganganand Singh, Andre McCarthy, Derone Davis, Kevin Stoute, Jonathan Carter and Raymond Reifer just to name a few.
Maq, the Boca Raton resident was on hand to witness the first three matches of the series that took place at his personal cricket stadium in Delray Beach, Florida. Speaking to News925 Qureshi said: “This is a very important day in the history of American cricket and we must appreciate this. This is the start of something special and I think it is safe to say that cricket is now professional here.”
Qureshi has been hosting the very popular US Open T20 tournament at the Central Broward Regional Park to the tune of millions of dollars over the last decade and although that is seen as the most professional private cricket tournament, the Minor league now looks to mirror that. Qureshi took in the games that featured Florida Beamers, DC Hawks, New England Eagles and Manhattan New Yorkers. He was the chief guest at the opening games and where he did the cap swap with Beamers captain Zishawn Qureshi and DC Hawks skipper Sonny Sohal.
He thinks that the Minor League will become a provider for players to enter the US Open T20 this year. “This is a fantastic opportunity for players to showcase their talent and get into the US Open T20 that will be played at the Central Broward Regional Park from December 12 to 19.” At the US Open T20 is where the big stars come to play and players like Chris Gayle, Keiron Pollard, Sunil Narine and Andre Russell just to name a few have featured.
