 Confusion reigned regarding the venue of the Champions League T20 for 2010,
when it Lalit Modi said that the tournament hosts have not yet been decided. This
was in sharp contrast to what the Cricket South Africa had earlier said regarding
the same.
Earlier, Cricket South Africa had said that the Champions League T20 in 2010
would be played in South Africa. They had gone on to say that there will
be three venues where it could be based out in South Africa, with two of them
belonging to the home teams of the finalists of the Pro20 tournament in South
Africa. Both these two sides will play in the Champions League T20, apart from
the three IPL teams.
However, Modi tweeted on his Twitter page that the news on South Africa hosting
the tournament was all wrong. He added that for now, nothing had been finalised
and the actual hosts would be any country from India, Australia, South
Africa, England and the Middle East. Later, Lalit Modi also added in
a press release that while the IPL was delighted in getting a consent from CSA
to host the tournament, one needed to wait to see what the other countries could
offer.
He said, "We will have to evaluate venue availability, weather, pitches
etc, amongst a host of other variables prior to finalising a host country for
the league of champions. The governing council's decision will be conveyed to
our fans very soon"
South Africa had earlier said that they were hosting the tournament because
it was their turn to do so. This was because the Indians had hosted in 2009
and because the CSA is a 25% stakeholder in the tournament, they would be hosting
it this time around. They had gone up to the extent of saying that they will
do their best to make it a world class event and ensure that it did not clash
with the 2010 edition of the soccer World Cup, which will also be held
in the same country.
While the South African board said that the number of teams would remain at
12 and they would be invited from over seven countries, Modi denied that anything
of that sort had been decided and said that the decision regarding the same
yet to be taken. He added, that the same will be taken at the general meeting
soon. Modi went on to add that only the dates for the tournament have been confirmed
yet.
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