Champions League postponed to October 2009

The inaugural Champions Twenty20 League has been postponed by a year and will now be held in India in October 2009, the window originally identified for the tournament's second edition.The tournament was scheduled to be held from December 3-11 in Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore but was put off after the terrorist attacks in Mumbai.

Officials from BCCI, Cricket Australia and Cricket South Africa, held a meeting on Friday(Dec 12) - and they took the decision to cancel the event "after considering all aspects, including the international calendar and the domestic schedules of the participating teams".It is understood that there is a provision to push back the tournament's ten-year cycle by a year in the organisers' arrangement with ESPN-Star Sports (ESS), the broadcasters, though it would mean teams would have to qualify afresh for the tournament.

The initial plan was to hold the tournament in early 2009 but the home and away series between Australia and South Africa, and the domestic Twenty20 fixtures of those countries, made it an impossible task. The participation of India's players was also dependent on the status of next year's tour of Pakistan. Eventually, the organisers decided to use the proposed second season dates for the inaugural edition.While it is likely the tournament will now have more teams - possibly up to 12 from the eight slotted for this year - next year's Twenty20 domestic finalists from India, Australia and South Africa will definitely take part. "Other participating teams will be finalised by the end of January 2009," a press release stated.

The cancellation comes as a huge blow for the teams that qualified for the 2008 edition, as they would have received at least US$250,000 as participating fees from the total pot of US$6 million. These teams will now have to try and make the cut all over again, officials confirmed.Apart from Rajasthan Royals and Chennai Super Kings, the IPL finalists, the original line-up included Western Australia and Victorian bushrangers, Australia's domestic Twenty20 winners and runners-up; South Africa's Pro20 finalists Titans and Dolphins England's Twenty20 Cup champions Middlesex; and Sialkot Stallions, the winners of Pakistan's domestic Twenty20

Champions league Cricket after mumbai terror attacks

After the attacks Champions League cricket has been called off and this meant more than the just loss of a big cheque for franchise cricketers, for whom luxuries are not a part of everyday life. For most of these cricketers Champions League twenty20 would have been the biggest stage they would have played.

The experience and the new skills that they would have gained playing champions league is also at stake. According to Tony Irish, chief executive of the South African Cricketers’ Association (Saca), the expected profits from the Champions League — of which Cricket SA (CSA) is a 20% partner — will mean an annual boost to the player payments pool of about R50000 a player. This will come from a 17% share of the profits made by CSA in terms of the agreement between the players’ association and the controlling body.

First, though, the tournament has to take place. Lalit Modi, chairman of the Champions League twent20, was confident it could be played in India early next year. But the reality is that there are no obvious gaps in the international cricket calendar. All the boards involved have teams on tour.

This would mean most of the players who play for their national side wouldn't be available if Champions league was scheduled next year.

The most obvious time would be between the end of Australia’s tour of South Africa on April 17 and the start of the World Twenty20 in England on June 5, but this would mean shifting the second edition of the Indian Premier League.

There is another complication. The Titans and Dolphins qualified by reaching the final of the Standard Bank Pro20 last season. But, by the time they take their places in the Champions League, this season’s local tournament — scheduled for January and February — will already have been played.

Irish said the postponement might have a cricketing benefit. “The business of cricket is over- heating,” he said. “The Twenty20 revolution has brought a lot of money into the game but it has meant the schedules are squashed more than ever. Perhaps this crisis will cause a reassessment.”