The focus will be back on the game. As the fifth edition of the CLT20 comes alive with Faisalabad Wolves of Pakistan taking on Otago Volts of New Zealand and then Sri Lanka’s Kandurata Maroons meeting Sunrisers Hyderabad in the inaugural qualifier matches on Tuesday, all the controversies that took place during and after IPL 6 will take a backseat.
To check controversies, the BCCI has announced a host of anti-corruption measures, which will come into effect in this tournament. There is much attention on CLT20 against the backdrop of the spot-fixing controversy. Every match and every player will be monitored.
The post-IPL 6 saga saw the banning of S Sreesanth and Ankeet Chavan, who were part of the Rajasthan Roylas team lead by Rahul Dravid. All the good work by Dravid and his men were overshadowed by the misdeeds of the tainted players. Nevertheless, holding his head high, Dravid did a wonderful job and took the Royals to the third spot in the IPL. It will be one more test for the former India captain before he finally bids adieu to the game.
For Sachin Tendulkar too it will be a final appearance for the Mumbai Indians. After waiting for five years, Mumbai finally won the IPL this year and it was a perfect farewell gift for the maestro. As IPL champions, Mumbai and Tendulkar would like to end the CLT20 on a winning note. The Indian teams will be favourites to win the CLT20 and MS Dhoni’s Chennai Super Kings will be eyeing the title for the second time after winning it in 2010. Dhoni’s team has the best record in IPL and qualified for all five editions of the CLT20.
Riding high after his grand show in the Champions Trophy and the tri-series in the West Indies, Dhoni would like to stamp his authority in this CLT20 to start the new season on a confident note. With Mike Hussey in great touch, Chennai have an all-round side that can go the distance. Suresh Raina, Dwayne Bravo, R Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja with Dhoni and Hussey make Chennai a formidable unit.
The other teams apart from the Indians franchises in the group stage are Highveld Lions (South Africa), Perth Scorchers (Australia), Titans (South Africa), Brisbane Heat (Australia) and Trinidad & Tobago (West Indies). The eight teams the in group stage will be joined by two qualifiers.
Last year’s champions Sydney Sixers are not in the fray as they did not qualify but Perth Scorchers and Brisbane Heat have the credentials to trouble the best teams. With the national team at a new low, the Australian T20 sides would like to put up a brave front in this tournament. South African teams are yet to win the CLT20. The ‘chokers’ tag continues to haunt the franchise teams also. Under the circumstances, Lions and Titans have a huge task to make amends. Perhaps the weakest team in the group stage is Trinidad & Tobago. But they will have former West Indies captain Brian Lara as their inspiration leader, who will be here as an ambassador of the Trinidad & Tobago government.