Two-time Bangladesh Premier League champions Dhaka Gladiators were left out of the Champions League for the second season in a row as the organisers of the private
Twenty20 tournament announced the line-up on Friday.
Ten teams were divided into two groups with the top two finishers in each group making the semi-finals of the tournament, which is jointly owned by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Cricket Australia (CA) and Cricket South Africa (CSA).
Eight teams have been seeded directly into the main draw and they will be joined by two of the four qualifiers for the next edition of the tournament, to be held in India from September 17 to October 6.
The Gladiators were eyeing a berth in the competition but could not even make it as one of the qualifiers despite no available teams from England and Wales while Pakistani side Faisalabad Wolves were chosen in the qualification category after winning the Faysal Bank Super Eight T20 Cup.
The Gladiators were optimistic about getting an opportunity after they had a fruitful meeting with the International Cricket Council chief executive David Richardson on March 17 at its Dubai headquarters.
They were expected to hold another meeting with tournament committee chairman N Srinivasan to discuss about their possibility.
The competition was launched in 2008 with the first edition held in October 2009 and is currently chaired by Srinivasan, who is also president of the BCCI.
But the high profile franchise of the BPL, who were expecting a call from the organisers of the CL T20, were not even considered to sit across the table to put up their case that had made the Gladiators management very disappointed.
‘I don’t see any logic behind not selecting us in the CL T20,’ Shihab Chowdhury, the managing director of the Gladiators, told reporters on Friday.
‘We were expected to meet the chairman of CLT20 but could not do so and all of a sudden we came to know about the participant teams, it really put us down,’ said Shihab.
Shihab added that it would make them think twice before making a team for the next edition of the BPL with a high budget if they were deprived of the opportunity to showcase their strength in the CLT20, an annual international cricket competition in which the top domestic teams from the major cricketing nations take part – apart from Zimbabwe and Bangladesh.
‘We had our eyes firmly set to compete in the tournament (CLT20) and in order to do so we had built a star-studded team to retain the championship of the BPL,’ said Shihab.
‘But if this trend in CLT20 continues in future we would certainly not spend so much money,’ he added
The West Indian champions, who had to play the qualifiers in the last two editions, will feature in the main draw while Pakistani side Faisalabad Wolves’ participation in the tournament will be interesting given the fragile diplomatic and sporting ties between India and Pakistan.
Trinidad & Tobago found a place in the main draw, after sustained public pressure following strong performances in previous seasons. They had finished runners-up in the inaugural edition in 2009, and won the qualifiers in 2011 and 2012 to secure their berth.
The ECB’s announcement that no teams from England will take part in this year’s competition has opened up slots for other domestic teams.
CL TEAMS
Group A: IPL 1st ranked team (India), Highveld Lions (South Africa), Perth Scorchers (Australia), IPL 3rd ranked team (India), Q1 (Qualifier).
Group B: IPL 2nd ranked team (India), Nashua Titans (South Africa), Brisbane Heat (Australia), Trinidad & Tobago (West Indies), Q2 (Qualifier).
Qualifiers: IPL 4th ranked team (India), Otago Volts (New Zealand), Sri Lanka qualifier, Faisalabad Wolves (Pakistan).
-With New Age input
