India to Host Champions League T20 from September 13 to October 4; KKR vs CSK in opener
Mohali, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Raipur will host Champions League T20 matches, Bengaluru will host final. Lahore Lions to represent Pakistan in qualifiers
Kolkata Knight Riders, winners of the Indian Premier League in 2014 and 2012, will take on Chennai Super Kings, winners of the IPL in 2011 and IPL and CLT20 champions in 2010, in the inaugural Group match of the Champions League Twenty20 2014, at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium, Hyderabad, on September 17, 2014.
India will host the sixth edition of the world's premier domestic T20 competition from September 13 to October 4. The tournament will follow a format similar to the three previous editions, with a Group Stage preceded by a Qualifier. A total of 29 matches will be played in the competition.
Four teams, including Mumbai Indians and Lahore Lions (Pakistan) will play the qualifiers from September 13 to September 16. The Group Stage will be played from September 17. It will feature 10 teams.
Kolkata Knight Riders and Chennai Super Kings apart, Group A will comprise Dolphins (winners of South Africa's domestic T20 competition), Perth Scorchers (Big Bash League winners), and a team from the CLT20 2014 Qualifier.
Group B will feature Hobart Hurricanes (Big Bash League runners-up), the winner of the domestic T20 competition in the West Indies, Kings XI Punjab (runners-up in IPL 2014), Cape Cobras (runners-up in South Africa's domestic T20 competition), and a team from the CLT20 2014 Qualifier.
Each side will play the other four in its group once, with the top two sides from each group going through to the semi-finals.
"The Group stage matches will be played at Mohali, Bengaluru, Hyderabad and Raipur. The Qualifier will be played at Raipur. The CLT20 Governing Council has confirmed the teams that will compete for a total prize money of USD 6 million," Sanjay Patel, BCCI secretary, said.
The CLT20 qualifiers will feature four teams - Mumbai Indians (fourth-ranked team in IPL 2014), Northern Knights (winners of New Zealand's domestic T20 competition), Southern Express (winners of Sri Lanka's domestic T20 tournament) and Lahore Lions (Pakistan's domestic T20 competition champions).
In the Qualifier, all teams will play each other once, with the top two advancing to the Group Stage.
The top team from Group A will play the second-ranked team from Group B, and vice versa, in the semi-finals, both of which will be played at Hyderabad on October 2. Bengaluru will host the final on October 4.