The Champions League Twenty20 (CLT20) was an annual international Twenty20 cricket competition for qualifying domestic teams from major cricketing nations. First contested in October 2009, the competition began in 2008. The Board of Control for Cricket in India, Cricket Australia, and Cricket South Africa owned it, and N. Srinivasan, the ICC chairman, chaired it. Sundar Raman was CLT20 and IPL COO. Chennai Super Kings won their second title in 2014.
India or South Africa hosted the two- to three-week competition in September and October. The victorious team received $2.5 million from the US$6 million prize pool, the most for a club cricket competition. India, Australia, and South Africa were favored to qualify from the eight Test-playing nations’ top Twenty20 championships.
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History:
The England and Wales Cricket Board started Twenty20 cricket in 2003 with the Twenty20 Cup. This was because county championship and domestic limited-overs cricket had been losing fans for a long time. The format was meant to bring in a younger crowd and increase attendance by cutting the length of matches to about three hours. Cricket countries started using the format and making their own Twenty20 tournaments.
After this, international Twenty20 tournaments were started. The International 20:20 Club Championship was the first time that a Twenty20 club tournament was held on a global scale. It took place in 2005 and had teams from three countries that played Twenty20 at home. Twenty20 International, a version of Twenty20 played between national cricket teams, started in February 2005, and the first ICC World Twenty20, the Twenty20 version of the Cricket World Cup, was held in September 2007.
Formation
After the first season of the Indian Premier League, India, Australia, and South Africa discussed creating a new international club league to capitalize on its success. On 13 September 2007, the Champions League Twenty20 was unveiled. The cricket boards of India, England, Australia, and South Africa organized the inaugural event in October 2008 with two teams from each country.
The event ran into trouble when the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which owns 50% of the tournament, barred players from the Indian Cricket Competition (ICL), an unsanctioned league. England’s Kent Spitfires, runners-up in their home tournament, had many ICL players. The BCCI opted to replace Kent with a Pakistani squad and the remaining England team. ECB responded with a Champions League. ECB accepted BCCI terms. BCCI, Cricket Australia, and Cricket South Africa created the CLT20 with one English side and $6 million in prize money.
Influence and reception
The tournament was well-supported. The organizers called its $6 million prize pool “the single greatest prize money pool in any cricket tournament thus far.” ESPN Star Sports paid $900 million for the global broadcasting rights to every match for 10 years, similar to Sony Entertainment Television and World Sport Group’s $1.026 billion 10-year agreement for IPL rights. Bharti Airtel paid $40 million for three years of title sponsorship before the 2009 event.
Despite this, the initial 2009 edition in India was only popular with IPL fans. Low turnout and TV ratings proved this. TAM Media Research reported an average television ratings score of 1.06, compared to 4.1 for the 2009 Indian Premier League. Bharti Airtel ended its five-year sponsorship after two years due to low viewership. Nokia replaced Bharti Airtel as title sponsor for four years but left after one. Karbonn succeeded Nokia in 2012. Oppo became headline sponsor in 2014.
Format of Champions League T20:
Even though each tournament was set up differently and had a different number of teams, they all had a group stage and a knockout stage with two rounds. In 2011, a qualifying round was added. This meant that only teams from India, South Africa, and Australia could enter directly. Each team, including those who competed in the qualifying stage, gets a fee of $500,000. The total prize money for each event was $6 million. Since 2010, it was given out in the following ways:
- $2.5 million – Winners
- $1.3 million – Runners-up
- $500,000 – 2nd and 3rd Runners-up
- $200,000 – Teams eliminated in the group stage
Players of Champions League T20:
A player can play for his “home” team—the team from the country he is allowed to represent in international cricket—even if he is on multiple qualified teams. If he plays for another team, they must compensate the home team $150,000 (starting 2011). These players prefer IPL teams. In 2010, an IPL club used a rule to force three players to play for them. IPL franchises have first rights to their players if they qualify with another team.
Every version debates the players and rules. Until 2013, it was unclear that CLT20 players could choose their team. To switch teams, an IPL player must give up 20% of his pay. The IPL has the highest salaries and the only CLT20 clause in its contracts. Thus, IPL players are unlikely to defect. Non-IPL teams desiring to maintain their players must forego the compensation money and provide compensation to sway them.
Arena of Champions League T20:
The three shareholders—India, South Africa, and Australia—were supposed to alternate hosting the tournament. The broadcasting deal requires India to host at least five of the first ten tournaments. Australia has not been considered owing to its unsuitable September weather and broadcaster-unfriendly time zone. India is now the preferred host after South Africa hosted in 2010. South Africa only hosted in 2012 because India couldn’t.
Figures and records of Champions League T20:
In the table below, you can see how each team did in the Champions League Twenty20 in the past.
| Team | Years qualified for CLT20 | No. of times qualified for CLT20 | No. of times CLT20 won | Notes |
| Chennai Super Kings | 2010 – 2014 | 5 | 2 | Champions (2010, 2014) |
| Mumbai Indians | 2010 – 2014 | 5 | 2 | Champions (2011, 2013) |
| Sydney Sixers | 2012 – 2012 | 1 | 1 | Champions (2012) |
| New South Wales Blues | 2010 – 2011 | 2 | 1 | Champions (2009) |
| Kolkata Knight Riders | 2011 – 2014 | 3 | 0 | Runners-up (2014) |
| Rajasthan Royals | 2013 – 2013 | 1 | 0 | Runners-up (2013) |
| Highveld Lions | 2010 – 2013 | 3 | 0 | Runners-up (2012) |
| Royal Challengers Bangalore | 2009 – 2011 | 3 | 0 | Runners-up (2011) |
| Warriors | 2010 – 2011 | 2 | 0 | Runners-up (2010) |
| Trinidad and Tobago | 2009 – 2013 | 5 | 0 | Runners-up (2009) |
| Hobart Hurricanes | 2014 – 2014 | 1 | 0 | Semifinals (2014) |
| Kings XI Punjab | 2014 – 2014 | 1 | 0 | Semifinals (2014) |
| Delhi Capitals | 2009 – 2012 | 2 | 0 | Semifinals (2012) |
| Titans | 2012 – 2013 | 2 | 0 | Semifinals (2012) |
| Somerset | 2009 – 2011 | 2 | 0 | Semifinals (2011) |
| Southern Redbacks | 2010 – 2011 | 2 | 0 | Semifinals (2010) |
| Cape Cobras | 2009 – 2014 | 3 | 0 | Semifinals (2009) |
| Victorian Bushrangers | 2009 – 2010 | 2 | 0 | Semifinals (2009) |
| Perth Scorchers | 2012 – 2014 | 3 | 0 | Group stage (2014) |
| Barbados Tridents | 2014 – 2014 | 1 | 0 | Group stage (2014) |
| Dolphins | 2014 – 2014 | 1 | 0 | Group stage (2014) |
| Lahore Lions | 2014 – 2014 | 1 | 0 | Group stage (2014) |
| Northern Knights | 2014 – 2014 | 1 | 0 | Group stage (2014) |
| Otago Volts | 2009 – 2013 | 2 | 0 | Group stage (2013) |
| Brisbane Heat | 2013 – 2013 | 1 | 0 | Group stage (2013) |
| Sunrisers Hyderabad | 2013 – 2013 | 1 | 0 | Group stage (2013) |
| Auckland Aces | 2011 – 2012 | 2 | 0 | Group stage (2012) |
| Yorkshire Carnegie | 2012 – 2012 | 1 | 0 | Group stage (2012) |
| Wayamba | 2009 – 2010 | 2 | 0 | Group stage (2010) |
| Central Districts Stags | 2010 – 2010 | 1 | 0 | Group stage (2010) |
| Guyana | 2010 – 2010 | 1 | 0 | Group stage (2010) |
| Deccan Chargers | 2009 – 2009 | 1 | 0 | Group stage (2009) |
| Diamond Eagles | 2009 – 2009 | 1 | 0 | Second Round(2009) |
| Sussex Sharks | 2009 – 2009 | 1 | 0 | Group stage (2009) |
Various teams:
Some teams only played in the qualifying tournaments and never made it to the group stage.
| Team | Span | Appearances | Best performance |
| Southern Express | 2014 – 2014 | 1 | Qualifying stage (2014) |
| Faisalabad Wolves | 2013 – 2013 | 1 | Qualifying stage (2013) |
| Kandurata Maroons | 2013 – 2013 | 1 | Qualifying stage (2013) |
| Hampshire | 2012 – 2012 | 1 | Qualifying stage (2012) |
| Sialkot Stallions | 2012 – 2012 | 1 | Qualifying stage (2012) |
| Uva Next | 2012 – 2012 | 1 | Qualifying stage (2012) |
| Leicestershire Foxes | 2011 – 2011 | 1 | Qualifying stage (2011) |
| Ruhuna Royals | 2011 – 2011 | 1 | Qualifying stage (2011) |
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