da realbet： Pakistan will have two domestic Twenty20 teams in the Champions Leaguetournament to be held later this year, joining Australia, South Africa,India and possibly England in the multi-nation tournament
da esoccer bet： Cricinfo staff04-Jul-2008
Pakistan will send two Twenty20 teams to the Champions League © Waseem Alam
Pakistan will have two domestic Twenty20 teams in the Champions Leaguetournament to be held later this year, said Nasim Ashraf, the PCB chairman. These teams will join Australia, South Africa, India and possibly England in the multi-nation tournament.There has been uncertainty surrounding Pakistan’s involvement in thetournament from the start, when an agreement was drawn up by boards fromAustralia, India, South Africa and England and not Pakistan. Discussionswere held in Dubai at the ICC meeting between officials of the fourcountries, but significantly no official from Pakistan was present.Though the BCCI stated last month that Pakistan would be one of theparticipating teams, one official told Cricinfo at the meeting, “All Iconfirm is that teams from India, Australia and South Africa are takingpart. We will finalise the fourth nation or even a fifth in due course.”But Ashraf laid to rest any doubt about the identity of the fourth nation,confirming that two Pakistani teams will be there when and if thetournament goes ahead. “We have been invited by the BCCI to put forwardtwo teams from Pakistan for the Champions League. We were invited when the IPL was launched that whenever the league happens it will have two teams from Pakistan. This was re-affirmed to us by Lalit Modi, the commissioner of the IPL, at a meeting I had with him in Dubai.”Ashraf also revealed plans for a Pakistan Super League (PSL) to belaunched next year, along the lines of the IPL. Presumably this willreplace the domestic Twenty20 Cup, which has already been an unparalleledsuccess locally and has, unusually, had participation from all topnational cricketers”We are almost in the final stages of the launch of the Pakistan SuperLeague,” he said. “It will be held in September 2009. It will be somethingthat the whole of Pakistan can be proud of. We will invite internationalcricketers and each side will have two players under 23 years of age.”
