ICC Plans World Club Championship, Targeting 2031 Launch
The Champions League T20 might be returning soon, but this time in an official ICC form. It is being reported that the ICC is planning to introduce the World Club Championship. While plans to start the same by 2031 are being discussed, it will include teams from England, Australia, and India.
For a long time, the cricket fans had been missing out on the Champions League T20. This tournament existed more than a decade ago, and it had the top teams across different T20 leagues competing against each other. But due to various reasons, the tournament was stopped and never made a comeback.
While talks of its comeback remained over the last few months, it might be possible over the next few years. Reports suggest that the ICC is now planning to bring out the World Club Championship, which will be similar to the Champions League T20. Since it will be administered by the ICC, it might not even have the issue due to which CLT20 came to an end.
It is also being reported that this tournament will be having the top teams from Australia, England, and India. As plans to start the same are being done, fans expect an official announcement on this tournament soon.
Our Take
The World Club Championship will be a good replacement for the Champions League T20, as it would revive the time when fans used to see real T20 competition. However, this would be the second T20 championship by the ICC, which shows the growing popularity of the shortest format of the game. As the number of T20Is have increased to a greater extent, fans would still want the ODI and Test formats to remain alive.