Cricket is back again to grab the centre stage with the Champions League 2010 coming up and this event is all set to be held in South Africa. The competition was launched in 2008 as a response to the success of national Twenty20 domestic cricket leagues, most notably the Indian Premier League. And to top it all, this time Mega Star Amitabh Bachchan has been roped in by ESPN for endorsing this tournament that will kick start in September. So all the buzz is up and it is all set to start from September 10 and will be held across venues like Durban, Port Elizabeth, Centurion and Johannesburg. Let’s not forget South Africa in the past, has been exceptional in hosting both the IPL in 2009 and FIFA World Cup in 2010.
Now that all the ten participating teams have been finalized, the teams have been divided into two groups. From India, teams playing in the champions League T20 include, Mumbai Indians headed by the Ace-batsman Sachin Tendulkar, Royal Challengers Bangalore headed by Old fox Anil Kumble and Chennai Super Kings headed by captain cool Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
In the previous edition of this tournament, we had four groups of three teams, with two teams from each group advancing to another league stage which then determines the semi-finalists. But this time, it’s just going to be two groups with five teams in each group. Despite this change, the tournament will feature the same number of games -23, as last year.
The first game will see a clash between Mumbai Indians and the African Lions in Johannesburg, which will also host the big finals on September 26. The Mumbai Indians and Lions will share Group B along with South Australia, Royal Challengers Bangalore and a team from the West Indies while the Group A will feature the 2010 IPL champions Chennai Super Kings, Australia's Big Bash champions Victoria, South Africa's Pro Series champions Warriors as well as Sri Lanka's Wayamba, which represents the North Western Province, and New Zealand's Central Districts. With a lot of champion teams in Group B, one can expect a lot of passion, entertainment, excitement and tons of cricket. However The New South Wale Blues were crowned the 2009 champions, they did not qualify for the 2010 Champions League.
The champions League consists of home and away players as any other league. But one can see a lot of players getting eligible to play for both teams. And to hint on a few players who are eligible , Jacques Kallis (Warriors, Bangalore), Mark Boucher (Warriors, Bangalore), Makhaya Ntini (Warriors, Chennai ), Kieron Pollard (South Australia, Mumbai), Dwayne Bravo (Victoria, Mumbai) and Cameron White (Victorian, Bangalore). And New Zealand's Ross Taylor is the first player to qualify with three teams - his home province Central Districts, and 'away' teams Victoria and Bangalore. How is that for the surprise element?
And the rule says, If a player chooses to play for an 'away' team rather than his 'home' team (the team from the country he is eligible to represent in international cricket), the 'away' team must pay US$200,000 compensation to the 'home' team. No compensation is payable to an 'away' team if a player chooses to play for his 'home' team. So there is for sure going to be lots of news and controversies in the making. But let’s always hope the Cricket part steals the show! Cricket in any of its form – be it ODI’s, T-20’s or the Test rubber, it is and will be fitting and entertaining!! Doff your hats, ladies and gentlemen for the game of Cricket. Hail Cricket!
