In a groundbreaking development that could reshape the club cricket landscape, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Cricket Australia (CA), and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) are engaging in pivotal talks aimed at resurrecting the Champions League T20—a club-based cricket competition that saw its curtain fall in 2014. Chennai Super Kings (CSK) stand as the reigning champions of the tournament, having emerged victorious against Kolkata Knight Riders in the final showdown hosted in Bengaluru.
The Champions League T20 once drew participation from a global array of teams, with three Indian franchises, two squads each from Australia and South Africa, and a single team from Pakistan, West Indies, and New Zealand. During its six-year tenure from 2009 to 2014, it saw CSK and Mumbai Indians clinching the title twice each, while Australia’s New South Wales Blues and Sydney Sixers each secured the honors once.
Cricket Victoria CEO Nick Cummins, during a press event to announce the Melbourne Cricket Academy’s inception in India in collaboration with KheloMore, acknowledged the tri-nation negotiations. Cummins highlighted the considerable challenge of finding a suitable slot within the already crammed international cricket calendar to reintroduce the Champions League. Reflecting on its past, he remarked, “I think the (earlier edition of) Champions League was ahead of its time. The T20 landscape wasn’t matured enough at that point. I think it is now.”
Cummins hinted at the potential for a parallel Champions League for women’s cricket, suggesting a tournament that might feature teams from the Women’s Premier League (WPL), The Hundred, and the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL). In continuing discourse with Nick Hockley, the CEO of CA, Cummins expressed a belief that the reintroduction of the Champions League could very well commence with the women’s teams.
Amidst frequent social media debates regarding which is the preeminent T20 league worldwide, Cummins believes that the Champions League could provide a definitive answer. He advocated for the chance to witness teams like Melbourne Stars and Karachi Kings, or Mumbai Indians in cross-border competition as a method to showcase the strengths of different leagues. It may also serve as an opportunity to fulfill the aspiration of seeing Indian players participate in Australia’s Big Bash League.
“The idea of the Mumbai Indians playing the Melbourne Stars at the MCG would be just as exciting as India playing Australia at the MCG,” speculated Cummins. He drew parallels between the simmering anticipation for such cricketing face-offs and the fervor that surrounds football’s Champions League games, emphasizing the event’s capability to command attention akin to that of World Cup fixtures.
The reimagined Champions League T20 would not only fuel the competitive spirit amongst the top clubs across the cricketing nations but also open up avenues for exchange in playing talent and styles. Cummins further emphasized the importance of discovering the perfect time frame within the Future Tours Programme (FTP) for hosting the tournament and saw this as the ‘next step in the evolution of cricket.’
With deliberations reportedly ongoing, the revival of the Champions League T20 rests on the collaborative commitment of the involved cricket boards to navigate the logistical and scheduling challenges. The rebirth of this competition could forge a new era of club cricket, redefining the landscape of the shortest format on an international scale and creating a new pinnacle for domestic teams to aspire to.
