The Champions League Twenty20 (CLT20) is poised for a return, and its second phase promises to be more expansive and improved. Recently, members of the International Cricket Council (ICC) convened in Singapore during the ICC Annual Conference and made an official decision to reinstate the tournament, which will showcase franchises from various domestic Twenty20 leagues across different nations. If everything proceeds as intended, the league could potentially resume as soon as next year.
CLT20 - A cult competition set to return

Cricbuzz has reported that the international boards are set to meet shortly to discuss the details of the league, especially considering that numerous franchise owners possess teams in various countries. Tackling this cross-team ownership model will pose a significant challenge for the regulators, who are anticipated – similar to previous instances – to establish a Governing Council (GC) or a Board to oversee the league.
Another significant hurdle for the regulators will be to define the scale and scope of the league. Following the discontinuation of the Champions League T20 in 2015, franchise-based competitions were limited to a few major Test-playing nations. A decade later, the T20 landscape has undergone a remarkable transformation – leagues have proliferated throughout the cricketing ecosystem, with even Associate nations such as the USA and UAE hosting their own tournaments. Countries like Nepal and Canada have also embraced this trend. Currently, there are approximately 11 major franchise leagues worldwide, including The Hundred in England.
Finding a suitable time slot in a congested calendar will present another challenge for the organizers, who will also need to determine the distribution of teams from the various leagues. As in the previous edition, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and its prominent Indian Premier League (IPL) are expected to take the initiative in this planned endeavor. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), which was not involved in the earlier league, is also likely to play an active role, as will Cricket Australia (CA). It remains unclear who else will participate; Cricket South Africa (CSA), one of the three founders of CL T20, may also be included in the framework.
The CL T20, launched in 2009, was discontinued after the 2014 season when its founding three members – the BCCI, CA, and CSA – accepted a proposal from broadcaster Star Sports to shut down the league. Incurring heavy financial losses, Star offered a compensation package, which the three boards agreed to in 2015.
So it will all start where it ended. The new members will, before anything else, have to first float a tender to onboard a broadcaster.