MUMBAI, India, CMC – Substantive regional Twenty20 champions Trinidad & Tobago have been drawn in Group-A of the Twenty20 Champions League with Indian Premier League champions Deccan Chargers in the preliminary round of the competition to be staged in India in October.
T&T won the second edition of the Stanford Twenty20 Cup – the regional Twenty20 franchise – when they crushed Jamaica in the Final last year at the Stanford Cricket Ground in Antigua.
The Trinbagonians will be joined by the Chargers, who won this year’s IPL title in South Africa, and the second-placed team in the English Twenty20 championship to be decided at the end of August.
Organisers released the draw on Thursday for the new US $6 million competition involving 12 top provincial teams from seven nations.
Host India will have three teams in the competition, with Deccan Chargers and Delhi Daredevils joining the Bangalore Royals Challengers in the lineup.
Victoria and New South Wales qualified from Australia, with Cape Cobras and Diamond Eagles from South Africa, T&T from West Indies, Otago from New Zealand, and Wayamba from Sri Lanka.
The two English teams will be decided after the domestic Twenty20 championship ends in August.
A total of 23 matches will be played between October 8 and 23 at three venues: Bangalore, New Delhi, and Hyderabad.
The 12 teams have been divided into four preliminary groups of three teams each. Two teams from each group will advance to the eight-team round-robin league.
The top four teams will then move into the semi-finals which will be played in New Delhi on October 21 and Hyderabad on October 22. Hyderabad will stage the final on October 23.
The T20 Champions League was to begin last year, but was postponed in the wake of attacks on Mumbai.
Groupings:
GROUP-A: Deccan Chargers (India), Trinidad and Tobago (West Indies) and England No. 2 (to be decided)
GROUP-B: New South Wales Blues (Australia), Diamond Eagles (South Africa) and England No. 1 (to be decided)
GROUP-C: Royal Challengers Bangalore (India), Cape Cobras (South Africa) and Otago Volts (New Zealand)
GROUP-D: Delhi Daredevils (India), Victoria Bushrangers (Australia) and Wayamba (Sri Lanka)
