T&T cricketers will open their Champions League campaign on September 22 against the Brisbane Heat at Ranchi in India. Yesterday the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) released the fixtures, which sees T&T avoiding any matches in volatile Chennai, as was reported by the T&T Guardian on the weekend.Most of their matches will be held in either Hyderabad or Delhi. T&T will play matches against Heat, Chennai Super Kings, Titans from South Africa and one of the qualifying teams.
Speaking to T&T Guardian yesterday manager of the national team Omar Khan said the national players who are currently in Guyana preparing to play for the Amazon Warriors in the upcoming Caribbean Premier League was very happy with the venues selected."The venues selected will suit T&T and I am here with some members of the national team and skipper Denesh Ramdin said the draw is good for us because of our great record at the Ranjiv Ghandi International ground in Hyderabad.
IPL champions Mumbai Indians and Rajasthan Royals will kick off the Champions League 2013 in Jaipur on September 21. They will be joined by Lions, winners of South Africa's T20 competition, and Australia's Perth Scorchers to make up Group A. Group B includes former winners Chennai Super Kings, Big Bash League champions Brisbane Heat, South Africa's Titans and T&T, who have qualified directly into the tournament for the first time.Otago Volts, Sunrisers Hyderabad, Faisalabad Wolves and the winner of Sri Lanka's domestic T20 tournament, which is yet to take place, will play the Qualifiers beginning on September 17 in Hyderabad. The two top-ranked sides will progress to take the one spot remaining in each group.
The group stage will have each team facing the other once to decide the seeding in the semi-finals. The table toppers from Group A will meet the team ranked second from Group B, while the winners of Group B will take on the second-placed team from Group A in Jaipur and Delhi respectively. Delhi will also host the final on October 6.Ranchi and Ahmedabad join Jaipur in hosting Champions League matches for the first time this year.
Full scheduled in tomorrow's Guardian