The New Twenty20 Champions League
The 2010 Twenty20 Champions League is the second edition of the international cricket tournament. Ten domestic teams from India, Australia, West Indies, South Africa, Sri Lanka and New Zealand are set to feature in the tournament held in South Africa from 10th to 26th of September 2010.
The featured ten teams will be divided into two groups with the top two teams from each group going through to the semi-finals. The 2010 Indian Premier League Champions - Chennai Super Kings, Australian Big Bash Champions - Victorian Bushrangers, Warriors - the Pro Series Winners of South Africa, Wayamba Elevens (Sri Lanka) and Central District Stags (New Zealand) make up Group A, while Group B comprises of Mumbai Indians (India), Southern Redbacks (Australia), Lions (South Africa), Royal Challengers Bangalore (India) and the winners of the West Indies 2010 Caribbean Twenty20.
In the 2009 edition of the Twenty20 Champions League, there were four groups of three teams. Out of which two teams from each group would advance to another stage. That stage would then determine which teams would go on to the semi finals. But despite changing the format, the organizers have managed to maintain the same number of matches as last year, 23. The distribution is such that each of the four venues will hold five games.
This year, there are quite a few players who have the option to choose from two separate teams to play for. Jacques Kallis and Mark Boucher can both play for either the Warriors or Royal Challengers Bangalore. Makhaya Ntini has the option of playing for the Warriors and Chennai Super Kings, and Kieron Pollard can choose between South Africa and Mumbai Indians. Dwayne Bravo and Cameron White are also faced with two choices, with Ross Taylor of New Zealand being the only player to qualify for three teams – Central District Stags, Victorian Bushrangers and Royal Challengers Bangalore.
The catch though, is that if a player decides to play for an away team instead of his home team, the away team would have to pay $200,000 in compensation to the player’s home team, which is the team of the country he is eligible to represent internationally. If that is the case, then South Africa lose Pollard and will wait for Afridi’s decision if he chooses to play.
The tournament starts off on the 10th of September with the Group B Mumbai Indians playing the South African Lions. The first match day in Group A starts the very next day, on the 11th with the Warriors taking on Wayamba. In the later fixture the Chennai Super Kings face Central Stags.
Shashank Manohar, the BCCI President and Champions League Twenty20 Chairman said in a press conference, “With 100 international stars qualified to participate through one - or more - of their Twenty20 teams, fans will be treated to daily battle between the world's best cricketers." and added that "Fans attending any of the matches throughout the tournament will be entertained by the highest quality Twenty20 cricket featuring South Africa's home grown heroes and world cricket's biggest and brightest stars."
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