The Champions League T20 – the annual tournament that has the majority wondering "what is the point of this" could be consigned to history, if the BCCI, like they usually do, have their way.
CLT20 has never quite grabbed the attention of the fans, and more crucially, the sponsors ever since its inception in 2009.
Despite having plenty of teams from the ever-popular IPL, the Champions League T20 has not been able to latch onto the knock-on effect, with the BCCI, Cricket Australia and Cricket South Africa – the three stakeholders in the tournament – unable to come up with a format that they hoped would make the CLT20 as popular as the UEFA Champions League in football.
According to a report in ESPNCricinfo, the BCCI, realising the need to say bye bye to the T20 tournament, are seriously contemplating scrapping the CLT20 when the IPL Governing Council meets in Delhi today.
Star, the broadcaster for the CLT20, are also not too happy with the ratings for the Champions League, and are also keen to end their association with the tournament, according to the report.
If a decision to put an end to the Champions League T20 is taken on Monday, the BCCI will then push for the official removal to Cricket Australia and Cricket South Africa as well.
The only concerns over the possible scrapping remains with the teams. Certain sponsorships for IPL sides are based on if they reach the CLT20, because it gives those sponsors extra visibility, while the teams outside the IPL axis will also lose out on welcome revenue.
Prize money for the CLT20 is pretty good, and teams that qualify for the CLT20 stand to make a minimum $200,000 – a king's ransom for most sides.
While calling off the CLT20 makes sense in certain aspects, what cannot be ignored is the loss of revenue for some of the smaller teams in this world.
Also, an avenue to unearth new talent will fall by the wayside. For instance, would a Kieron Pollard have become Kieron Pollard without his performances for Trinidad & Tobago in the CLT20?
As is always the case there are pros and cons when it comes to making big decisions, and at the end of the day, the CLT20's future will depend on if those pros can outweigh the cons; one suspects it does not.
