Smith chooses Sussex over Deccan

Piyush Chawla, second left, earns a Champions League slot after a stellar impact as overseas player earlier this season

Dwayne Smith and Piyush Chawla have been named in Sussex’s 20-man preliminary squad for the inaugural Twenty20 Champions League, which takes place in India in October.

Smith, 26, the former West Indies all-rounder, struck a crucial fifty in Sussex’s win over Somerset on Twenty20 finals day. He has chosen to play for the Sharks in the tournament, rather than his Indian Premier League franchise Deccan Chargers.

Chawla, the 20-year-old India leg-spinner, who took 2-17 in his only Twenty20 Cup appearance this year, has also elected to return to his county for the competition.

Batsman Murray Goodwin is ineligible to take part this year due to his previous involvement with the unauthorised Indian Cricket League.

Goodwin, who made 80 to beat Northamptonshire in the Twenty20 Cup semi-final at Edgbaston, severed his ICL contract earlier this year in order for Sussex to take part in the Champions League.

He will be available if the Sharks qualify for the 2010 event after he has fulfilled a ‘cooling-off’ period from the ICL.

The Sharks will take on New South Wales Blues on Sunday October 11 at 10.30am GMT and Diamond Eagles of South Africa on October 13 at 2.30pm GMT. Both matches will be in Delhi.

Sussex captain Mike Yardy said: “It’s a fantastic honour to be the first club captain to take Sussex to an international competition.

“We’ve played great cricket throughout this year’s tournament, culminating in two fantastic performances at Edgbaston on Saturday. We’ve got a strong squad that should suit Indian conditions and we’re all very excited about this great opportunity.”

Mark Robinson, professional cricket manager, added: “This is a great chance for us to pit our wits against the world’s best.

“It will be a great challenge for what is still quite a young squad. It will be a test of the squad’s mental and physical toughness and will be a fantastic learning curve for the whole side.”

Sussex will confirm their final 15-man squad on September 8.

Sussex 20-man preliminary squad: Mike Yardy (captain), Matt Prior (wkt), Ben Brown (wkt), Andrew Hodd (wkt), Ragheb Aga, Yasir Arafat, Will Beer, Piyush Chawla, Joe Gatting, Rory Hamilton-Brown, Carl Hopkinson, Ed Joyce, Chad Keegan, James Kirtley, Chris Liddle, Robin Martin-Jenkins, Chris Nash, Ollie Rayner, Dwayne Smith, Luke Wright.