The 2008 Champions League Twenty20 was scheduled to be the first edition of the Champions League Twenty20, an international club cricket tournament. It was due to be held in India between December 3 and December 10, 2008,[1] where the winners were to earn around US$6 million. The bombing attacks in Mumbai just one week prior to the tournament resulted in its postponement.[2] It was proposed that the tournament be held at some point in 2009, though dates for its rearrangement could not be found and the tournament was cancelled on December 12, 2008.[3]
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The tournament has eight teams and is divided into a group stage and a knockout stage. If a match ends in a tie, a Super Over will be played to determine the winner. The group stage has the teams divided into two equal groups, with each playing a round-robin tournament. The top two teams of each group advance to the knockout stage. The knockout stage consists of two semi-finals, with the top team of one group facing the second from the other. The winners of the semi-finals play the grand final to determine the winner of the competition.[4]
Points awarded in the group stage:
| Result | Points |
|---|---|
| Win | 2 points |
| No result | 1 point |
| Loss | 0 points |
Eight teams from six nations qualified for the tournament. The Qualified teams were:[5]
| Team | Group | Country | Domestic Tournament | Position |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rajasthan Royals | B | India | 2008 Indian Premier League | Winner |
| Chennai Super Kings | A | India | 2008 Indian Premier League | Runner-up |
| Titans | A | South Africa | 2007–08 Standard Bank Pro20 | Winner |
| Dolphins | B | South Africa | 2007–08 Standard Bank Pro20 | Runner-up |
| Victorian Bushrangers | A | Australia | 2007–08 KFC Twenty20 Big Bash | Winner |
| Western Warriors | B | Australia | 2007–08 KFC Twenty20 Big Bash | Runner-up |
| Middlesex Crusaders | A | England | 2008 Twenty20 Cup | Winner |
| Sialkot Stallions | B | Pakistan | 2008 RBS Twenty-20 Cup | Winner |
The organisers of the tournament confirmed that any team competing would be banned from fielding players who have competed in the Indian Cricket League, a rival to the Indian Premier League.[6] As a result of this, England's participation in the tournament was put in jeopardy. For the 2008 season, 15 of the 18 counties fielded 25 players from the ICL.[7] On 24 July 2008, IPL commissioner Lalit Modi confirmed their stance by stating that only Middlesex and Essex stood a chance of being invited to the Champions League because they didn't have ICL links.[8] Middlesex's participation was further put into doubt after the targeting of British citizens during the 2008 bombings in Mumbai which resulted in the tournament's postponement.
Three venues were chosen to host the league and knockout matches. Mumbai and Bangalore were chosen instead of Rajasthan Royals' home stadium which was under renovations. Chennai Super Kings' Chepauk Stadium was chosen to play two of the three matches the team had to play. The first semi-final was supposed to be held at Bangalore while the second semi-final and the final was to be held at Chennai.
| Chennai | Bangalore | Mumbai |
|---|---|---|
| M. A. Chidambaram Stadium Capacity: 50,000 |
M. Chinnaswamy Stadium Capacity: 95,000 |
Brabourne Stadium Capacity: 3,000 |
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| 4 December (D/N) Scorecard |
Chennai Super Kings |
v | Victorian Bushrangers |
Match 4 Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai |
| 5 December Scorecard |
Middlesex Crusaders |
v | Titans |
Match 5 M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai |
| 6 December Scorecard |
Titans |
v | Victorian Bushrangers |
Match 8 M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai |
| 6 December (D/N) Scorecard |
Chennai Super Kings |
v | Middlesex Crusaders |
Match 9 M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai |
| 7 December (D/N) Scorecard |
Chennai Super Kings |
v | Titans |
Match 12 M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai |
| 3 December (D/N) Scorecard |
Dolphins |
v | Rajasthan Royals |
Match 2 M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore |
| 4 December Scorecard |
Sialkot Stallions |
v | Western Warriors |
Match 3 M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore |
| 5 December (D/N) Scorecard |
Rajasthan Royals |
v | Sialkot Stallions |
Match 6 Brabourne Stadium, Mumbai |
| 6 December Scorecard |
Dolphins |
v | Western Warriors |
Match 7 M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore |
| 7 December Scorecard |
Dolphins |
v | Sialkot Stallions |
Match 10 M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore |
| 7 December Scorecard |
Rajasthan Royals |
v | Western Warriors |
Match 11 M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore |
| 8 December (D/N) Scorecard |
Group B winner |
v | Group A runner-up |
Semi-final 1 M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bangalore |
| 9 December (D/N) Scorecard |
Group A winner |
v | Group B runner-up |
Semi-final 2 M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai |
| 10 December (D/N) Scorecard |
Semi-final 1 winner |
v | Semi-final 2 winner |
Final M. A. Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai |
The teams participating especially the IPL teams were extremely disheartened with the cancelling of league. Both the Chennai Super Kings and the Rajasthan Royals received $1.3 million as compensation whereas the other teams were also offered petty amounts. The Champions League was changed to be a more attractive tournament featuring more teams. The league was planned and successfully executed as the 2009 Champions League Twenty20.
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