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CLT20 Set To Sensationally Restart In 2026 After 12-year Hiatus: Reports
Follow UsIt was last played in 2014 before being shelved
12 years after being discontinued, the Champions League T20 (CLT20) is set to make a sensational return in the cricketing calendar, according to a report from the Sydney Morning Herald.
According to the report, the CLT20, which was discontinued after the 2014 edition, could be played in a September window in 2026. The report further added that the relaunch of the competition was “backed by key member countries at the International Cricket Council’s annual conference in Singapore.”
The first edition of the CLT20, which was seen as the UEFA Champions League of Cricket, was played in 2009 in India and won by a star-studded New South Wales team which consisted of David Warner, Steve Smith and Brett Lee among others. The competition ran for five more seasons but was discontinued post 2014 after it was commercially unviable.
"Unfortunately, off the field, Champions League T20 wasn't sustaining the interest of the fans as we had hoped,” the then BCCI Secretary Anurag Thakur had said in a statement in 2015.
“This decision [to discontinue] was made, after consultation with all our commercial partners and meeting the contractual obligations of all parties involved. The Governing Council would like to thank everyone involved with the CLT20 and all those who participated in the tournament.”
Originally, the first CLT20 edition was supposed to be held in 2008, but the Mumbai terror attacks meant it had to be postponed. Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Mumbai Indians (MI) have both won the tournament twice, with CSK winning the 2014 edition before the competition was shelved.