Champions League: a flop at home, a hit abroad

So, 20 matches are up in a flash and we finally know who the semi finalists are. This Champions League has had its share of twists, turns and a lot of surprises that has added to the excitement. While all the Indian Premier League (IPL) teams have performed very well, it has been a disappointment for the teams from Sri Lanka, New Zealand and the West Indies, who have been the pushovers to bullies from Australia, India and South Africa. The crowd has participated in the action, standard of cricket has been good, if not better than last year’s inaugural edition.

Keiron Pollard's big hitting was a revelation in the inaugural edition last year

Last time around all the IPL teams had disappointed in home conditions and there was a certain Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) squad led by Darren Ganga creating ripples: a certain Keiron Pollard had lit the stage with astonishing hitting that made him a hot property in the IPL. Deccan Chargers lived up to its distinction of having failed to win a single cricket match in its home ground, Hyderabad, which easily possessed the hardest and the juiciest pitch of the tournament (Delhi’s Ferozeshah Kotla was a disaster). South African and Australian teams were clinical, especially New South Wales, who went on to lift the title, defeating the favourite Trinidad and Tobago in the final. There were two English teams as well, Somerset Sabre and Sussex Sharks, both of whom had lukewarm outings. Owing to their ongoing domestic season, England were not able to send their teams to the tournament this time. Yet, the tournament is more than a hit in South Africa, as against a flop show in India last year.

Which leads us to another question: is the Champions League as big as it is meant to be?

Twenty20 essentially follows the football style of having domestic leagues with the club system, the buying and selling of players (in the IPL) and creating a tournament of the elitest teams from different leagues in world cricket. But still it is so different.

Chennai Super Kings have led the IPL charge in this year's Champions League

That’s because the Champions League is not the biggest T20 tournament in the world: in terms of fan base and media coverage, IPL is the king in the world of cricket, which should not be the case. We need the Champions League to be the favourite tournament among cricket fans all over the world in a league in which teams from all over the world are taking part. It needs to be as big as the World Cup.

The organisers have worked hard to make this big; if the last time Indians could not connect with a tournament with unfamiliar teams and unfamiliar players, and only three IPL teams, the South Africans this time around have come in numbers to not only support their squads, but also watch other exciting matches, some with their favourite players in IPL teams like Jacques Kallis and Dale Steyn.

With Chennai Super Kings winning the final group match yesterday, two IPL teams progressed to the semi finals, which was needed for the tournament as a whole because of India being a big player. It is equally important for teams from New Zealand, West Indies and Sri Lanka to pull up their socks and make a statement in the league so that interest among fans is generated in the respective cricketing regions as well. We need more competition, perhaps include more teams like those from Zimbabwe and Bangladesh (Pakistan and England were missing this year, but they should be present next year) and perhaps a bigger tournament for a longer period of time.

Twenty20 club cricket cannot gain prominence over international cricket (those part of ICC’s Future Tours Programme) and hence organisers’ hands are tied.

As we await the winner of the semi finals and final on Sunday, we also hope that a bigger and better league awaits us next season and that club cricket, especially the Champions League, becomes popular and exciting to rival that in football. It is a tough ask though, really.

Yet cricket is already one of the most popular sports in the world and it has been seen that Twenty20 can draw in masses. Champions League has just taken off: it has a long way to go, and exciting days are in store.