A revival of Champions League T20?

[Hamad_H]

I was thinking about this the other day and I came across an article which suggested that the CLT20 could return with most of the countries having a franchise system for T20s. Most Nations have/will have a Premier/Super League structure with top International Players involved (SA will launch theirs in 2018 and England in 2020) so it would be a bit more balanced than before where only a few of the teams had overseas players. Another problem was that some players rather played for their IPL team than any other team so to avoid this, they could introduce a rule where if your home franchise has qualified for the tournament you must represent them.

I think that the CLT20 came too early and now, if marketed well with a few changes to the structure and hosts are rotated so interest is generated in each country, it could be very entertaining. Kieron Pollard and Sunil Narine both broke out on the scene during this tournament and now are considered integral to T20 franchises around the world. An MI vs. PZ match-up would be intense.

 

[Goooby]

I think the biggest problem with this is that most leagues have the same big players playing in them.

How would you have a Lahore Qalandar vs Brisbane Heat match? Which team should/would McCullum play for?

This idea only works if you have the leagues all happening at the same time so that they all have unique players like football. Not there yet though.

 

[CanadianG00se]

Last time BCCI was in this venture they came out with loss. I dont think BCCI will ever get invovled with CLT20 business. Fans around the world have not yet accepted league structure as cricket, for some its still ‘Mickey Mouse’ cricket. Now, you need to ask where would they host? Last time apart from India, no other country had any crowd for the games. Even in India beside IPL teams, neutral team were played in front of empty stands. So, this CLT20 is just a wishful thinking that isn’t going to happen anytime soon.

 

[The intelligent Supporter]

I remember a mediocre bowling but decent batting helped Lahore Lions smash the IPL champions Mumbai Indians , it was pretty sweet to watch. Considering how much hype and money goes into IPL

 

[Hamad_H]

I think the biggest problem with this is that most leagues have the same big players playing in them.

How would you have a Lahore Qalandar vs Brisbane Heat match? Which team should/would McCullum play for?

This idea only works if you have the leagues all happening at the same time so that they all have unique players like football. Not there yet though.

I suppose in this situation either McCullum could choose his side or he would have to play for Brisbane Heat since they have less overseas players in their squad so he would be harder to replace. The logistics would be fairly difficult with who plays for who but I think that it is manageable and it would be a fun concept to see happen soon with the amount of T20 Leagues starting around the world.

 

[Hamad_H]

Last time BCCI was in this venture they came out with loss. I dont think BCCI will ever get invovled with CLT20 business. Fans around the world have not yet accepted league structure as cricket, for some its still ‘Mickey Mouse’ cricket. Now, you need to ask where would they host? Last time apart from India, no other country had any crowd for the games. Even in India beside IPL teams, neutral team were played in front of empty stands. So, this CLT20 is just a wishful thinking that isn’t going to happen anytime soon.

I think the low turnout was partly due to a lack of stars in the tournament with majority of them coming from the IPL teams so people weren't really bothered to see how New Zealand's domestic players would perform (No disrespect to NZ). Also, it wasn't very competitive then but in the near future when SA and English leagues start, most of the teams will be very even.

Hosting would be countries happy to host and I'm sure a few countries would be willing to rotate. BBL has seen good attendances even though it clashes with the Australian Test Summer, PSL has been well received in the UAE and I don't what the situation is with BPL and CPL but I'm sure attendances are healthy for those games. 4 years has passed since it ended and a lot has changed in those 4 years as more people has accepted T20 cricket even though there are some that do oppose it but you can't please everyone.

I think one reason why people call these leagues 'Mickey Mouse' cricket is because they see them as glorified domestic leagues but this is a competition that is a global tournament where it could bring a lot of excitement. BCCI came out with a loss last time but now times have changed with other countries jumping on the T20 hype train and T20 cricket is becoming preferred format where attendances are stronger now unlike Test Cricket. I enjoy test cricket and I'm quite worried with the decreasing popularity but it is the truth that Test cricket's popularity is falling.

Personally, I would love to see this as it is more cricket for more players who are unknown/not in the national team so they can make the headlines in a global tournament and make their case for national selection as it seems like some selectors only care about franchise cricket rather than any other domestic competitions.

 

[USofA]

I seriously doubt if CL will ever comeback. I don't think there is demand for it. If there was, it would ongoing.

It's been a few years since the BCCI got out of it. The CL has been for the taking since then. But not a single board has stepped forward to take it on and run it. Why would they do it now.

 

[Arham_PakFan]

If different players played for different teams,it(revival of clt20)could be a good idea.But for example if Gayle has 3 teams who qualified (aside from Home side),which team would he play for.

 

[Hedz]

I’m all for Champions League return and I was thinking about the tournament yesterday aswell
I believe for it to be a success, first a limit has to be in place on the number t20 tournaments in the world. Personally, I believe there is no room for the NatWest big blast after 2020 when they bring their new tournament in. Once this goes, that provides a 3 month window for more international cricket and a CLT20.

The idea of moving the tournament around and making players play for their home franchise would help to make it a better success.

 

[Hedz]

I think the biggest problem with this is that most leagues have the same big players playing in them.

How would you have a Lahore Qalandar vs Brisbane Heat match? Which team should/would McCullum play for?

This idea only works if you have the leagues all happening at the same time so that they all have unique players like football. Not there yet though.

I don’t see that happening often with Lahore Qalandars ����

 

[USofA]

If different players played for different teams,it(revival of clt20)could be a good idea.But for example if Gayle has 3 teams who qualified (aside from Home side),which team would he play for.

I don't think there is even a question. The IPL team (provided he still has one). Not just Gayle, but all the players in the same situation. It has been the case in the past. I don't see why it would change now.

Unless, there is a bidding war for their services. Even in this case the IPL franchises would win.

 

[Convict]

I must admit that I enjoy watching Perth play other Australian cities. Couldn't careless about playing foreign cities though.

 

[hadi123]

I liked it tbh but I think it failed cos back then, only a few countries had their own franchise tournaments, so some teams had less crowd pullers. Now though, there will be a lot of international super stars. I remember when Lahore Lions beat Mumbai Indians, boy that was great I hope it comes back but if it does, I highly doubt it would be from BCCI.

 

[USofA]

I liked it tbh but I think it failed cos back then, only a few countries had their own franchise tournaments, so some teams had less crowd pullers. Now though, there will be a lot of international super stars. I remember when Lahore Lions beat Mumbai Indians, boy that was great I hope it comes back but if it does, I highly doubt it would be from BCCI.

You are right. The BCCI is out of CL. But why wait on the BCCI. Why can't CA/BBL, or PCB/PSL take in on and organize it. Just no leadership or wherewithal. Sad state of affairs.