Founder and Former CEO, American Premier League.
Jay Mir
Born in Lahore, Pakistan, Jay Mir’s journey is a testament to vision, determination, and the transformative power of sports. He pursued his education at Punjab University in Lahore and later at Pace University in New York, where he majored in Political Science. This academic foundation, coupled with his passion for cricket, set the stage for his future endeavors.
In 2009, Jay Mir founded the American Premier League (APL), a ground breaking initiative that would elevate cricket’s profile across the United States. Through his exceptional marketing strategies and visionary leadership, Mir transformed the APL into a global brand recognized for its innovation and impact. Under his stewardship, cricket gained unprecedented exposure in major U.S. media outlets, including CBS Sports, Fox Sports, Yahoo Finance, Market Watch, News 12, Wall Street Journal, and 1010 WINS, among others and APL Season 2 was broadcast to millions of fans across the globe on highly esteemed sports channels like Viacom Sports 18, Jio Cinema (650 million viewers), Supreme TV, Caribbean TV,Tapmad, Fancode,Geo Super ATN Canada and many more.
Mir’s efforts culminated in the historic moment when the American flag was raised at the Capitol in recognition of the American Premier League, an initiative supported by House Representative Jodey Arrington. This milestone symbolized the integration of cricket into the American political and sports landscape.
To further nurture cricket talent, nationwide trials were organized, providing aspiring cricketers from across the U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean with a platform to showcase their skills. Under Mir’s leadership, the league celebrated its top performers by awarding for the first time ever in the history of U.S. Cricket, a brand new Corvette to the Most Valuable Player Additionally, cricket superstars like Chris Gayle, Fawad Alam, and Ravi Bopara were featured in a ground breaking promotional campaign in Times Square, marking the first ever major advertising push for cricket on huge digital billboards in the heart of New York City.
Mir’s dedication to the sport led to the APL receiving official sanctioning from the International Cricket Council (ICC). In a significant business move in November of 2024, he sold the APL brand to Merit Sports Group for a $100 million investment over the next decade. This acquisition aims to conduct annual world-class T20 and T10 tournaments, establish APL-branded cricket academies across major U.S. cities, develop a sports complex in New York, and host women’s T20 and T10 tournaments.
Beyond his contributions to cricket, Jay Mir is also known for his philanthropic efforts through the Jay Mir Foundation, which supports various charitable initiatives. He has also successfully ventured into retail and real estate, further solidifying his reputation as a dynamic entrepreneur.
Jay Mir’s legacy is not only defined by his achievements in sports but also by his commitment to empowering communities and fostering the love of cricket in the United States.
Twitter at @JayMir_APL
Branding & Media Partner
Sal Sayed
Board Member
Gulrez Khan
Gulrez Khan, popularly known as “Gus” amongst his peers is an Indian-American entrepreneur and businessman.
Khan is the Co-Owner and Chief Operations & Development Officer of American Star Home Health & Hospice Care, Inc., in Lubbock (Texas). He is an active political figure in the United States Republican Party. Currently, he serves as the Precinct – 27 Chairman with the Lubbock County Republican Party (Texas). In 2020, Khan got elected as the National Delegate #1 (United States Congressional District- 19) to vote for President Donald Trump at the Republican National Convention in Florida. This year, he got elected a Delegate and Sergeant-At-Arms at the Texas Republican State Convention in Houston (Texas). He also ran for Mayor of Lubbock (Texas) in 2022. Khan serves on numerous nonprofit boards & committees including South Plains Food Bank, Center For Global Understanding, and has helped fundraise for American Heart Association, Pediatric Cancer Association, AMBUCS, Boys & Girls Clubs of America, and many philanthropic organizations. Khan is a former first-class cricketer in both India and the United States.
He is an avid golfer too and has competed in 3 United States Open golf qualifying championships. Khan got his Masters in Business Administration (MBA) in Human Resource Management degree from Forbes School of Business in Iowa. He can be reached at gkhan@americanstarhhc.com
Director of Sales & Marketing
Mohammad Khan
A prominent businessman from Long Island, New York is the franchise owner of Solar Fusion Power. Solar Fusion Power joins hands with American Premier League and Major League Tapeball as the Title Sponsor for APL & MLT New York State Championship. Solar Fusion Power is dedicated to saving millions of Americans on their energy bills by helping them install solar technology in their homes with rabtes of up to $1500 upon switching to Solar for their Energy needs.
We truly appreciate Mr.Khan’s support for the biggest American Premier League & Tapeball league in North America and becoming the title sponsor of their Home State Championship.
Team English
Victoria Morgan
APL Theme Song Director and Producer
Ali Azmat
Pakistani rock icon Ali Azmat began his career as lead singer for the iconic Pakistani rock band Junoon (dubbed the U2 of South Asia by the New York Times). As lead singer of Junoon, Ali fronted the largest rock band in South Asia. He joined the band at its inception in 1990. The 10 albums they released between 1990 and 2003 sold 20 million albums worldwide. In 1998, Ali and Junoon took Pakistan and India by storm with the hit single “Sayonee” from their tremendously successful fourth album “Azadi” released by EMI. In 1999, Junoon won the “Best International Group” award at the Channel Music Awards in New Delhi. In 2001 Ali appeared in the VH1 News Special Islamabad Rock City, a rockumentary on Junoon hosted by Susan Sarandon. In 2002, Ali was nominated for an Emmy award.
Azmat will be directing and producing the theme song for American Premier League. Azmat also sits on the Advisory Board of APL.
Twitter: @RealAliAzmat
Instagram: @aliazmatofficial
Facebook: @AliAzmatOfficial
Website: www.aliazmat.com
League Director
Prashant Ramesh Mishra
Prashant is a reputed name in the sports industry with over 15 years of experience in organising global level tournaments and events of Cricket, Football and MMA. An automobile engineer by degree, Prashant has been cognizant in creating sports IPs and executing them.
He has been closely working with national federations for various sports across the globe. He was the GM of the IPL team Kochi Tuskers Kerala, National Head of “Play for Kings” – an IP by Punjab Kings, Director of Strategy & Operations for Full Contact Championship – An IP by Cornerstone, Director of Strategy & Operations for Global T20 Canada and Founder & Managing Director for Euro T20 Slam.
With a brilliant technical background, Prashant has also been an award recipient by the then Hon. President of India – Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam.
Team Americans
Eraj Abidi
Team Windees
Michael Virk
Team Canadians
Rocky Walia
Mr. Walia’s vast business portfolio includes owning a chain of convenience stores, gas stations and liquor stores across Georgia.
Mr. Walia came to the United States at a very young age and through his hard work, dedication, and unwavering drive to succeed, has been able to build a successful business empire. “Cricket has been the source of my entertainment right from the start of my childhood. Just like billions of cricket fans across the Indian subcontinent, I live, eat, and breathe the fantastic sport of cricket.
As a successful businessman, I am always looking for the next big opportunity and when this idea of American Premier League was presented to me, I was drawn to it right away. The idea of naming the teams based off of the cricket loving communities living in the United States sounded like a brilliant concept to me and sparked a great deal of curiosity. I felt compelled to learn more, which lead me to watch highlights of the historic inaugural American Premier League tournament of 2021 and was amazed what American Premier League was able to achieve, which includes the ‘never been done before’ opening ceremony, to the high-level production, to the beautiful Corvette given to the MVP.
My family and I are thrilled to be part of this exciting and unique business venture and will assure that we put together a very exciting and competitive team for American Premier League Season Two this December in Florida.”
Team Afghans
Spetman Bardaasht
Spetmaan Bardasht, owner of the Afghan Franchise in American Premier League is a dynamic young entrepreneur who moved to the United States in early 2016 and settled in Richmond, VA.
Originally from Afghanistan, He is an e-commerce businessman.
He is the founder and CEO of some of the biggest e-commerce businesses in Afghanistan. Cricket is his passion. He is currently leading a cricket club, the Blazers, located in Richmond, VA.
Team Paks
Muhammad Ali
Board of Directors
Munish Soni
Munish Soni is a successful Indian-Australian entrepreneur. He is the owner of a conglomerate of companies in Australia including ITP real estate, Pacific Wealth Group, Vertex Management, and MKIT care. Munish is a former first-grade and professional cricketer in both India & Australia. Munish hails from the famous city of Chandigarh (India) where he completed his bachelor’s degree in commerce (G.G.D.S.D. College) and Punjab University. Later on, he went on to complete his master’s degree in Business & Computer Applications from Western University in Australia.
Munish will be overseeing American Premier League commercial interests in Australia which include sponsorship opportunities and building American Premier League cricket academies throughout Australia.
We welcome Munish Soni on board and wish him all the very best on his new assignment.
Team Indians
Sam Singh
Sam Singh is a prominent businessman from New Jersey. His business portfolio includes owning a very successful construction company, real estate development and a chain of clothing stores throughout the east coast.
Singh grew up playing cricket and has a strong love and passion for the game. Singh is the proud owner of Premium Indians Cricket Club, a team that represents his favorite sport and his home country. Singh sits on the Advisory Board of APL.
sports publicist
Radhika Mehta
A sports publicist and a sports marketing professional, Radhika brings more than 15 years of experience. She has worked as a Journalist, Public Relations & marketing expert, celebrity manager and sports events organizer. She was leading sports partnership for social media giant ShareChat. Prior to that, she worked with hugely successful IPL franchisee Kolkata Knight Riders as a Publicist and a marketing professional. She was also responsible for the corporate communication of Sony Pictures Sports Networks during her stint with the global PR agency, MSL 2020. In her early days, she has worked with Professional Golf Tour of India, Indian Golf Union, Asian Tour, Sri Lankan Premier League, Indian Badminton League, 2010 Commonwealth Games, Euro T20 slam as a PR consultant. An avid traveller, she has covered 40+ countries. She is also managing the business affairs of Japanese luxurious golf brand called Honma, as a Country Head of Touché Golf, the official distributer of Honma in India.
Operations Manager
Hardik Patel
Hardik Patel, is an Application developer as a professional and a die heart cricket fan.
Hardik has started his career in New Jersey and has led multiple teams in tournaments like CLNJ ( Cricket League of New Jersey) and MCL ( Millennium Cricket League). Hardik has shown great leadership and management skills with 22 yards this year as an Operations manager. Hardik is looking to work with teams this APL season and make experience memorable for participating teams.
