NEW DELHI, India, CMC-The 2013 Caribbean T20 champions, Trinidad and Tobago, have earned direct entry into the group stage of this year’s Champions League T20 (CLT20) tournament which will be played in India from September 17 to October 6, organizers have announced.
An announcement on the official Champions League T20 website says Trinidad and Tobago deserve automatic entry into the main draw after winning the Caribbean T20 title for the third time in a row.
The group stage will feature 10 teams divided into two groups of five.
T&T will campaign in Group B alongside the second placed Indian Premier League team, South Africa’s T20 runners up Titans, Australia’s T20 champions Brisbane Heat and the second place team from the qualifiers.
“With some of the world’s best T20 players, they are a deserving entrant in the main draw after winning the Caribbean T20 championship for a third straight time earlier this year,” the media release on CLT20.com said.
Group A will comprise the winners and third-ranked team in the IPL, Highveld Lions (winners of South Africa’s RAM SLAM T20 Challenge), Perth Scorchers (KFC T20 Big Bash League runner-up), and the top team from the CLT20 qualifiers.
The qualifiers will feature four teams —the fourth-ranked team from the Pepsi IPL 2013, Otago Volts (New Zealand’s HRV Cup champions) and the winners of the Sri Lanka and Pakistan domestic T20 competitions.
The teams will play each other once, with the top two advancing to the group stage.
T and T played in the qualifiers in 2011 and 2012.
A total of 29 matches will be played by the best domestic T20 teams from around the world who will compete for total prize money of US$6 million.
The venues of the CLT20 2013 will be decided at the end of the IPL season, once the top three teams in that tournament are known.
