T20 Champions League

The money spinning IPL has finally given rise to a new off-shoot. Champions League T20 is a brainchild of Lalit Modi, the same man who made the Indian Premier League a huge success. Initially scheduled for a December 2008 debut after being cleared by ICC, the tournament had to be cancelled in the wake of the November 26 terror attacks in Mumbai.
The glamour and razzmatazz associated with the first season of IPL gave Indian cricket fans an all new addiction. Fast paced action, huge sixes, nail biting finishes clubbed with the rare opportunity to see some of cricket’s greatest gladiators rub shoulders with young Indians was enough to leave the adrenalin pumping among cricket fans.
With Mahendra Singh Dhoni and his bunch of rookies winning the inaugural T20 World Cup in South Africa, the new format received the desired fillip ahead of the IPL and the rest as they say is history.
The Champions League is a format borrowed primarily from football where each continent has its own league which comprises of the top teams from various countries. The inaugural edition of the T20 Champions League will feature the domestic T20 champions from 7 test playing nations with Pakistan being the only exception due to tense political relations with hosts India. 5 other teams from the different leagues round off the total of 12 participating clubs.
India leads the field with 3 teams while England, South Africa and Australia have 2 representatives each. West Indies, Sri Lanka and New Zealand have a solitary participant.
The league which is billed as the ‘Clash of Champions’ will be played in three venues across the country with the final slated to be played at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad.

Participating Teams