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Rediff.com  » Cricket » Lack of popularity sees end of Champions League Twenty20

Lack of popularity sees end of Champions League Twenty20

Last updated on: July 15, 2015 18:26 IST
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Chennai Super Kings celebrate

Chennai Super Kings celebrate after winning the 2014 Champions League T20 title. Photograph: BCCI

The Governing Council of the Champions League T20 confirmed on Wednesday that the Twenty20 cricket competition will be discontinued with immediate effect.

The tournament was run since 2009 by the cricket boards of India (BCCI), Australia (CA) and South Africa (CSA).

The 2015 edition, which would have been the seventh and was scheduled for September-October, was cancelled because of the tournament's "limited public following", organisers said.

Since its inception in 2009, the CLT20 found itself in trouble. They were unable to acquire title sponsors and television ratings also dipped progressively. The amount of money spent on the tournament didn’t make much financial sense to the Indian Board either.

Anurag Thakur, secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India, said: "This has been a difficult decision as the Champions League T20 provided added context to a number of domestic Twenty 20 competitions around the world, such as the Indian Premier League in India, Big Bash League in Australia and South Africa’s Ram Slam T20.

"It was a fantastic platform for players from around the world to showcase their talent, and the participating teams thoroughly enjoyed the experience over the last six seasons. Unfortunately, off the field, Champions League T20 wasn’t sustaining the interest of the fans as we had hoped.

"This decision was made, after consultation with all our commercial partners and meeting the contractual obligations of all parties involved. The Governing Council would like to thank everyone involved with the CLT20 and all those who participated in the tournament.

“Further details associated with winding down the league including settling with the three nations that had invested time and effort in the competition, will be completed very soon."

Launched by the BCCI, Cricket Australia and Cricket South Africa in 2008, the competition offered a highly-lucrative prize pool of $6 million, with $2.5 million going to the winners.

It brought together teams from the India Premier League, Australia's Big Bash League, South Africa's Ram Slam T20 Challenge and Caribbean Premier League along with other qualifiers.

The inaugural event was cancelled after the death of 164 people in coordinated attacks on Mumbai in November 2008. The tournament failed to gain any real traction thereafter.

Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings were the most successful teams in the competition; both won it twice, Super Kings securing what will be the final title in Bangalore last year.

Australia, India and South Africa were the primary stakeholders, while the tournament also saw participation by teams from the West Indies, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

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