Cricket fans all around the world could see an exciting return of the Champions League T20 (CLT20). Cricket Australia (CA), the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) are reportedly in serious talks to revive the competition after a decade-long hiatus.
While announcing the developments Cricket Victoria CEO Nick Cummins stated that the most difficult task would be to find a suitable gap in the already overcrowded cricket schedule.
“The Champions League was ahead of its time” Cummins explained. “The T20 landscape is now mature enough to warrant its comeback. The most difficult challenge is finding a scheduling window among all of the ICC competitions. It’s probable that the first edition of a reconstituted Champions League may focus on women’s teams, including elite players from the WPL, the Hundred and the WBBL.”
CLT20: A Tournament of Global Giants
The last CLT20 was contested in 2014 when the Chennai Super Kings defeated the Kolkata Knight Riders. The event featured the top franchise teams from the world’s most important T20 leagues including India, Australia, South Africa, Pakistan, the West Indies and New Zealand.
Cummins feels that a reimagined CLT20 will provide a decisive answer to a long-standing question: which T20 league reigns supreme, the IPL, BBL, PSL, CPL or others?
“We still can’t declare which league is the greatest. To answer this we need the Melbourne Stars to face either the Karachi Kings or the Mumbai Indians. Cummins stated that a restructured Champions League would result in historic battles such as India versus Australia at the MCG.
The Unique Appeal of the Champions League
One of the most appealing qualities of the CLT20 was its capacity to throw the world’s finest players against one another regardless of national affiliation. Cummins observes that no existing T20 competition properly shows the sport’s elite quality in its whole owing to variables such as Indian players’ non-participation in other leagues and Pakistani players’ participation in IPL.
Cummins stated “The fascinating truth is that no current T20 league features all of the top players. The Champions League would change that giving viewers the opportunity to see the best versus the best.”
A Tournament Steeped in History
The six seasons of the CLT20 saw numerous iconic moments. The Chennai Super Kings and Mumbai Indians each won the tournament twice while the New South Wales Blues and Sydney Sixers were also crowned champions. Suresh Raina stands as the all-time leading run-scorer in the tournament’s history and Lasith Malinga holds the record for most wickets.
The Road Ahead
While the early discussions between the boards appear encouraging the fundamental problem remains finding a place for the CLT20 in the packed cricket schedule. Cummins remains optimistic predicting that the tournament would return as early as the next cycle of the Future Tours Programme (FTP). Intriguingly, he also raises the prospect of a women’s Champions League lighting the trail.
The idea of the Champions League T20’s comeback has surely sparked enthusiasm in the cricket community. The prospect of witnessing global T20 superstars compete for franchise supremacy is enticing and cricket fans will eagerly await future announcements from the BCCI, ECB and CA.