The Airtel Twenty20 Champions League is an international Twenty20 cricket competition between clubs from India, Australia, England, South Africa, Sri Lanka, New Zealand and West Indies. The competition was launched in 2008 as a response to the success of Indian Premier League. The first edition was set to take place from December 3 to December 10, 2008. The tournament was postponed following terrorist attacks in Mumbai in November 2008 and later cancelled, with the first tournament now scheduled for October 2009. Indian mobile service Bharti Airtel has bought the title sponsorship rights of the Champions League.

 

 

Participant Teams:

 
The domestic Twenty20 winners of West Indies, Sri Lanka and New Zealand, as well as Delhi Daredevils, will get an opportunity to participate in the inaugural Champions Twenty20 League, to be held from October 8-23 in India, just after the Champions Trophy.

 

Delhi has been included on the basis of having topped the round-robin stage of the 2009 IPL. They will be joined by Deccan Chargers and Royal Challengers Bangalore, the 2009 IPL finalists.

 

Other 2009 domestic finalists and winners include Victoria and New South Wales (Australia), Cape Cobras and Eagles (South Africa), Otago (New Zealand), Trinidad and Tobago (West Indies) and Wayamba (Sri Lanka), Somerset and Sussex (England).

 

Tournament Format:

 

The 12 teams will be divided into four groups of three teams each. The top two teams from each group will qualify for the second round where two leagues of four teams each will compete in a round-robin league. The top four teams will make it to the semi-finals, which will be played in New Delhi, on October 21, and Hyderabad, on October 22. A total of 23 matches will be played over 16 days in these three venues.

 

Tournament Groups:

 

The 12 teams will be divided into four groups of three each with IPL runners-up Bangalore grouped with Cape Cobras and Otago, while IPL champions Deccan Chargers are in a pool with Stanford 20/20 winners, Trinidad and Tobago and Somerset, the runners-up of England’s Twenty20 Cup.

 

Delhi Daredevils will be grouped with Victoria, the runners-up in the Australian domestic competition, and the Sri Lanka champions Wayamba. The other group comprises the Australian title-holders New South Wales, South Africa’s Eagles and Sussex, the winner of England’s Twenty20 Cup.

 

Group-A: Deccan Chargers, Somerset, and Trinidad and Tobago

 

Group-B: Eagles, New South Wales, and Sussex

 

Group-C: Royal Challengers Bangalore, Cape Cobras, and Otago

 

Group-D: Delhi Daredevils, Victoria, and Wayamba

 

 

Tournament Schedule:

 

The tournament will start from 8th October 2009, the opening game of the Champions Twenty20 League, between the Royal Challengers Bangalore and the Cape Cobras, will be held in Bangalore while the final will be played in Hyderabad on October 23.

 

The complete tournament schedule is as below:

 

Thu Oct 8:

 

20:00 local -14:30 GMT: Group C – Royal Challengers Bangalore v Cape Cobras

 

M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore

 

Fri Oct 9:

 

16:00 local -10:30 GMT: Group B – Eagles v New South Wales

 

Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi

 

Fri Oct 9:

 

20:00 local 14:30 GMT: Group D – Delhi Daredevils v Victoria

 

Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi

 

Sat Oct 10:

 

16:00 local -10:30 GMT: Group C – Cape Cobras v Otago

 

Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad

 

Sat Oct 10:

 

20:00 local -14:30 GMT: Group A – Deccan Chargers v Somerset

 

Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad

 

Sun Oct 11:

 

16:00 local -10:30 GMT: Group B – New South Wales v Sussex

 

Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi

 

Sun Oct 11:

 

20:00 local -14:30 GMT: Group D – Delhi Daredevils v Wayamba

 

Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi

 

Mon Oct 12:

 

16:00 local -10:30 GMT: Group A – Somerset v Trinidad & Tobago

 

M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore

 

Mon Oct 12:

 

20:00 local -14:30 GMT: Group C – Royal Challengers Bangalore v Otago

 

M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore

 

Tue Oct 13:

 

16:00 local -10:30 GMT: Group D – Victoria v Wayamba

 

Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi

 

Tue Oct 13:

 

20:00 local 14:30 GMT: Group B – Eagles v Sussex

 

Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi

 

Wed Oct 14:

 

20:00 local -14:30 GMT: Group A – Deccan Chargers v Trinidad & Tobago

 

 

Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad

 

Thu Oct 15:

 

20:00 local -14:30 GMT: League B – TBC v TBC (C1 v D2)

 

M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore

 

Fri Oct 16:

 

16:00 local 010:30 GMT: League A – TBC v TBC (A2 v B2)

 

Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad

 

Fri Oct 16:

 

20:00 local -14:30 GMT: League A – TBC v TBC (A1 v B1)

 

Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad

 

Sat Oct 17:

 

16:00 local -10:30 GMT: League B – TBC v TBC (C2 v D2)

 

M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore

 

Sat Oct 17:

 

20:00 local -14:30 GMT: League B – TBC v TBC (C1 v D1)

 

M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore

 

Sun Oct 18:

 

16:00 local -10:30 GMT: League A – TBC v TBC (A2 v B1)

 

Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad

 

Sun Oct 18:

 

20:00 local -14:30 GMT: League A – TBC v TBC (A1 v B2)

 

Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad

 

Mon Oct 19:

 

20:00 local -14:30 GMT: League B – TBC v TBC (C2 v D1)

 

Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi

 

Wed Oct 21:

 

20:00 local -14:30 GMT: 1st semi-final – TBC v TBC (Winner B v Runner up A)

 

Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi

 

Thu Oct 22:

 

20:00 local -14:30 GMT: 2nd semi-final – TBC v TBC (Winner A v Runner up B)

 

Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad

 

Fri Oct 23:

 

20:00 local -14:30 GMT: Final – TBC v TBC

 

Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Uppal, Hyderabad

 

Author: Mona Gupta, New Delhi

 

 

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