CA, ECB and BCCI pondering revival of Champions League T20

Out of the blue, ten years after the last edition of the Champions League, Cricket Victoria’s CEO Nick Cummins triggered a conversation about the resurrection of the now-defunct tournament. Chennai Super Kings are the last winners of the competition, back in 2014, when they defeated Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the final. 

"I think the Champions League was ahead of its time. The T20 landscape wasn't mature enough at that point. I think it is now," Cummins said on the sidelines of an event in Mumbai on Tuesday, reported ESPNCricinfo. 

Cummins didn’t end there, openly stating that there’s an ‘active conversation’ between Cricket Australia (CA), the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on reviving the tournament. 

"I know that there's active conversations between Cricket Australia, the ECB, and the BCCI about the Champions League.”

"It's just trying to find a window as to when you actually play that, because you've also got all the ICC tournaments as well. It may be that the first iteration of the Champions League will be of the women… [it may involve cricketers playing in] the WPL, the Hundred and the WBBL,” he added. 

Cummins also revealed that there is a constant to-and-fro conversation between him and Cricket Australia’s CEO Nick Hockley, with the intention of bringing the tournament back. 

"I'm constantly talking to Nick Hockley, Cricket Australia CEO, for a Champions League, because I think it's pretty important to bring that back," Cummins said. 

"There are talks about it. It's probably a question to ask Jay Shah. But certainly, from an Australia cricket perspective, we are very open to the idea of the Champions League. It's just about finding a window in the FTP, but I think that's the next step in the evolution of cricket,” he added. 

One of the hallmarks of the Champions League was its ability to bring the best of the world franchises in a single competition and fight it out against each other. 

"We still haven't made out which league is the best. IPL, PSL or the Big Bash? The only way we can show that is by having Melbourne Stars play Karachi Kings or Mumbai Indians," Cummins said. 

"Champions League is well overdue. Look at what Champions League does for football, the World Cup is fantastic and the Champions League is there [too] every time,” he added. 

While the Champions League was a hot property, its popularity started declining due to the domination of the Indian franchises, who had the best of the players from world cricket. 

However, Nick debated that, stating that the Indian Premier League doesn’t have Pakistan players, and the other countries don’t have Indian players, which makes the competition even. 

"The reality is there is no T20 competition in the world which has the best players in the world playing in it. Champions League would actually provide that," he said. 

"No other competition has Indian players. The IPL doesn't have Pakistan players. So there is no competition in the world with the best players. The Champions League would be a way for the best to be playing against each other."