India gets go-ahead for T20 Champions League

The lucrative 2.5 million pound Champions League Twenty20 tournament will go ahead later this September in India. It will feature eight teams but may not include a team from England as originally planned. The tournament details will be finalised in Mumbai on Wednesday.

The tournament will be held from September 29 to October 8 in Jaipur, Delhi and Mohali. So far the teams that have been finalised are Rajasthan Royals, Chennai Superkings, Victoria, Western Australia, Nashua Titans and Nashua Dolphins. These are the top two local teams from India, Australia and South Africa.

One of the qualifying English teams Kent stands barred from the tournament as they fielded 2 Indian Cricket League players Justin Kemp and Azhar Mahmood. While the other English team Middlesex is eligible, it remains unclear whether the ECB decides to send them or not. A team from Pakistan has been confirmed to take Kent's place while a team from Sri Lanka or New Zealand is lined up if Middlesex does not show up.

Earlier on Sunday, in a report in The Sunday Telegraph, ECB was gearing up for its own Champions League with financial backing from the royal family of Abu Dhabi.

According to a report in The Sunday Telegraph, the Abu Dhabi royal family is ready to give the ECB a financial assistance to the tune of 750 million over a period of 10 years.