The Champions League T20 (CLT20) last took place in India in 2014 where Chennai Super Kings (CSK) grabbed the title by beating Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in Bengaluru and now the talks between the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), England Cricket (EC) and Cricket Australia (CA) have started to take place in order to revive it.
The latest edition involved four teams from India, two each from South Africa and Australia and one from Pakistan, New Zealand and West Indies and it has, since then, not been played.
With the addition of multiple T20 leagues around the world, the cricket schedule is jam-packed which would become the biggest problem in bringing back the CLT20, as stated by Cricket Victoria CEO Nick Cummins.
"I think the (earlier edition of) Champions League was ahead of its time. The T20 landscape wasn't matured enough at that point. I think it is now," Cummins told the media during the announcement of its partnership with KheloMore to launch the Melbourne Cricket Academy in India.
"I know that there's active conversations between Cricket Australia (CA), ECB (England and Wales Cricket Board) and the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) about (reviving) the Champions League," he said.
"It's just trying to find a window as to when you actually play that, because you've also got all the ICC tournaments as well. It maybe (the case) that the first iteration of the Champions League will be of the women.... (it may involve cricketers playing in the) the WPL, the Hundred and the WBBL," he added.
Cummins added that he has been in talks with CA’s CEO Nick Hockley for the revival of the league but the BCCI secretary could reveal more information about it.
"I'm constantly talking to Nick Hockley, Cricket Australia CEO, for a Champions League, because I think it's pretty important to bring that back," he said.
"There are talks about it. It's probably a question to ask Jay Shah (BCCI secretary). But certainly, from an Australian cricket perspective, we are very open to the idea of the Champions League. It's just about finding a window in the FTP, but I think that's the next step in the evolution of cricket," he added.
Cummins then compared top leagues in the world like the Indian Premier League (IPL), Pakistan Super League (PSL) and others, saying that the only way to determine which one is best is if they play each other.
“We still haven't made out which league is the best. IPL, PSL or the Big Bash? The only way we can show that is by having the Melbourne Stars play Karachi Kings or the Mumbai Indians," Cummins said.
"Our great aspiration is to have the Indian players play in the Big Bash," he said.
"(The) Champions League is well overdue. Look at what Champions League does for football, the World Cup is fantastic and the Champions League is there (too) every time.
"The idea of the Mumbai Indians playing the Melbourne Stars at the MCG would be just as exciting as India playing Australia at the MCG," he added.
