Champions League name chief

Sundar Raman has been appointed as chief executive officer for the International Cricket Council Champions League Twenty20 tournament.

Raman has been working on the Champions League - the Twenty20 competition involving domestic teams from Australia, England, South Africa, Pakistan and India - ever since the concept was conceived and he will combine the role with his position as Indian Premier League chief executive.

Middlesex will play in the Champions League in December after winning the 2008 Twenty20 Cup

Dhiraj Malhotra, the IPL’s tournament director, will also perform the same role with the Champions League.

Malhotra has worked with the ICC on tournaments such as the T20 World Cup in South Africa as well as the World Cup in the Caribbean and several world age-group tournaments.

Michael Brown and Brian Basson have been appointed as general manager for cricket operations and cricket programming and logistics, respectively.

The inaugural edition of the Champions League will be held in three Indian cities - Mumbai, Chennai and Bangalore - in December.

The tournament will feature eight teams, two each from domestic competitions in Australia, South Africa and India plus Pakistan side Sialkot and Middlesex.