Raipur: After a sumptuous feast of traditional cricket, it's time again to return to the shortest format as leading players, including India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni, get ready to represent their respective franchises in the sixth edition of the Champions League T20, with the qualifying rounds starting here on Saturday.
While the tournament proper starts on September 17 with perennial favourites Chennai Super Kings pitted against reigning IPL champions Kolkata Knight Riders, the start of qualifying rounds will feature defending CLT20 champions Mumbai Indians taking on a very talented Lahore Lions team led by former national T20 captain Mohammed Hafeez.
While three IPL franchises KKR, CSK and Kings XI Punjab have directly qualified for the main rounds along with five other sides, Mumbai Indians, by virtue of finishing fourth in IPL will have to slog it out from tomorrow with the Lions (Pakistan), Northern Districts (New Zealand), Southern Express (Sri Lanka) at the Shaheed Veer Narayan Stadium.
Out of the four qualifiers, the top two will earn berth in the main round, which will comprise of 10 teams divided into two groups.
With the tournament being played in India (other venues are Mohali, Hyderabad and Bangalore), it is a foregone conclusion that the four home franchises have the best chance of winning the coveted title.
While CSK, under the able leadership of Dhoni, will be aiming to shrug off the disappointment of not reaching the IPL final with a solid show, Gautam Gambhir would like to quickly forget the England tour nightmare by aiming for a 'double' in the same calender -- winning both IPL and CLT20.
Among the Indian players, Dhoni (2010) and Rohit Sharma (2013) have the distinction of winning the IPL and CLT20 in the same year and Gambhir would like to join the elite club.
Some of the sheen have be taken off the tournament with exciting players like Rohit missing out due to multiple injuries (finger fracture and shoulder niggle) while South African speedster Morne Morkel is also out with a shoulder injury. Both MI and KKR will feel the absence of these two players.
But certainly not more than Southern Express of Sri Lanka, whose regular skipper Lasith Malinga expectedly decidedto don Mumbai Indians colours while dashing opener Tillekaratne Dilshan pulled out due to family commitments.
