BCCI, CA and ECB planning to revive Champions League T20 tournament

Cricket Australia (CA), England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) are in active talks to revive the Champions League T20 (CLT20) tournament. Notably, the tournament which began in 2009 ran for a total of six seasons and featured the champion T20 sides from all over the world fighting against each other for the coveted title.

Recently, Cricket Victoria CEO Nick Cummins opened up on the plans for revival of the tournament calling it ‘ahead of its time’ and stated that the T20 Landscape wasn’t mature at that point. Notably, the last edition of the Champions League was held in 2014 where Chennai Super Kings (CSK) beat Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the final to clinch the title.

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"I think the Champions League was ahead of its time. The T20 landscape wasn't mature enough at that point. I think it is now. I know that there's active conversations between Cricket Australia, the ECB, and the BCCI about the Champions League,” Cummins was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo.

Cummins further revealed that the three boards are mulling over finding an ideal window of the tournament in a jam-packed cricketing calendar. He further suggested that the boards might host a Champions League for women’s first before starting the men’s tournament.

"It's just trying to find a window as to when you actually play that, because you've also got all the ICC tournaments as well. It may be that the first iteration of the Champions League will be of the women… [it may involve cricketers playing in] the WPL, the Hundred and the WBBL,” he added.

Cummis further said that he’s in talks with Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley and BCCI secretary Jay Shah will soon be included in the plans.

"I'm constantly talking to Nick Hockley, Cricket Australia CEO, for a Champions League, because I think it's pretty important to bring that back. There are talks about it. It's probably a question to ask Jay Shah. But certainly, from an Australia cricket perspective, we are very open to the idea of the Champions League. It's just about finding a window in the FTP, but I think that's the next step in the evolution of cricket,” Cummins further said.

MI and CSK are most successful teams of CLT20

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The last edition of the CLT20 included three teams from India two each from Australia and South Africa, and one each from Pakistan, the West Indies and New Zealand. Like the Indian Premier League (IPL) Mumbai Indians (2011 and 2013) and Chennai Super Kings (2010 and 2014) were the two most successful teams of the tournament with two titles each to their names. On the other hand, New South Wales Blues won the inaugural edition in 2009 while Sydney Sixers emerged victorious in 2012.