Champions League’s Fate Hangs in the Balance

Published 04/21/2015, 11:41 AM EDT

The future of Champions League T20 tournament is said to be ‘Under the Cloud’ according to an insider of the IPL’s governing council. The tournament takes place every year from mid-September to the first week of October.

This premier T20 tournament, is modeled on the format of football’s Champions League that is conducted by UEFA in Europe, and features top teams in T20 cricket from across the globe including Australia, South Africa, West Indies and of course the Indian Premier League as well.

The main concern over its removal is the alteration of goals for teams in the IPL, wherein the top 4 teams of the Season get an opportunity to play in the League later that year. The Champions League hence turned out to be a sponsorship magnet for the teams if they actually make it there. Now, with fate of the tournament not looking great, the sponsors might eventually pull out.

The tournament, started in 2009 didn’t receive the pomp and glitter as the IPL, which had a rather high number of spectators and television ratings. According to sources, BCCI is also planning to ask its other two stake holders Cricket Australia and Cricket South Africa to take a stand on this issue.

All in all the overall assessment of the situation doesn’t look good for the T20 tournament.

Edited by Shivang Aggarwal

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Jaskirat Arora is the Co-Founder & Content Head of EssentiallySports. He developed an avid interest in sports from an early age and actively follows F1, NBA & Tennis.