Champions League deadline extended

Dwayne Smith will likely face Somerset in the Twenty20 Champions League, but in Sussex or Deccan livery?

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The Champions League Twenty20 governing council has extended the deadline for participating teams to name their initial squads for the tournament.

The 12 sides will now have until August 24 to select their preliminary squad of 20 players for the tournament, which is scheduled to be held in India from October 8 to 23.

Champions League chairman Lalit Modi said the decision was made as several players have qualified for the tournament from multiple teams.

“With England’s Somerset and Sussex only qualifying for the tournament last weekend, we felt it was important to give them as well as the other competing teams as much time as possible to finalise their playing lists for the tournament,” he said.

“Given the number of players who have qualified for multiple teams and the huge prize money involved, the stakes are high for all teams.”

Players such as Herschelle Gibbs (Cape Cobras and Deccan Chargers), Nathan Bracken (New South Wales Blues and Royal Challengers, Bangalore), Brendon McCullum (Otago Volts and New South Wales Blues) and Dwayne Smith (Sussex Sharks and Deccan Chargers) now have to decide who they wish to play for.

Governing Council member Dino Kino said if players opt to play for the team not from their home country, the ‘away’ team would have to pay compensation.

“At the start of next week we will know which players have been named in more than one squad,” Kino said.

“The players would then have to make a decision on which team he will play for.

“If he chooses an ‘away’ team, the away team will then pay the home team US $200,000 as compensation.

“Teams will have to deliberate and choose carefully because they would have to pay compensation for each player who decides to play for an away team.

“Once the decision is made we would then grant teams a couple of days to name a replacement player in their final squad of 15.”

Indian Premier League franchises Deccan Chargers, Royal Challengers Bangalore and Delhi Daredevils, Australia’s NSW Blues and Victorian Bushrangers, South Africa’s Cape Cobras and Diamond Eagles, England’s Sussex Sharks and Somerset Sabres, New Zealand’s Otago Volts, Trinidad & Tobago from the West Indies, and Wayamba from Sri Lanka will feature in the inaugural edition of the Twenty20 tournament.