Post Mortem- Champions League T20

Post Mortem- Champions League T20
T20 cricket has been symbolized as a doze of cricket blended with music and dance resulting in wholesome entertainment. In the abridged version, the game reaches a crescendo a zillion times making it intriguing to watch. All this put together has given birth to a new concept of cricketainment, which saw its seeds sown in the inaugural T20 world cup, to grow rapidly in the IPL and CLT20 was an experiment to expand its horizon.
CLT20 was an attempt to take club cricket international with top teams in the T20 format from 6 countries, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, India, West Indies, & Sri Lanka gathered to fought it out to see who is real the champion of champions. The road to discovery of the champion of champions led to reminisce of the past with the Trinidad & Tobago (T&T) team exhibiting the true West Indian style of cricket which had become a chapter preserved in cricketing history until now. T&T brand of cricket was a revelation not only for the cricketing fraternity but it won many Indian hearts where fans came in numbers in Hyderabad and cheered for them just like the West Indies team of the 70s and 80s.
The captain of T&T team summed it quite well when he said, that they were playing for their country while the others were playing for their states while commenting on their emotional behavior on the pitch. This response came amidst the turmoil in the West Indies cricket administration. They wanted to prove a point and they dam well did!

The New South Wales team from Australia clinched the cup with a clinical performance in the final. Overall, cricket was the real winner in the tournament with the flair of the Windies, gutsy but honest cricket from the South Africans, professional and clinical performances from the Aussies. The IPL teams disappointed one and all by failing to qualify for the semi-finals. The cricket pundits illustrated that the IPL sides hardly play together as compared to their counterparts in the tournament who have been playing together since weeks, months and seasons to form teams that reinforce unity and spirit. While the IPL sides comprise of dashers, international stars and some local talent that promised a lot due to their exhibition of showmanship in the IPL but failed to deliver it in the CLT20.

What was the final verdict on the inaugural Champions League T20?

Verdict for CLT20 in cricketing terms: 4 stars
Verdict for CLT20 commercially: 2 stars
In cricketing terms the tournament was a success with a display of passion and earnest desire to win from all the teams. They were competing for the first time against unknown opponents and in unknown conditions making the contest more challenging and endearing for them. In today’s times where too much cricket has resulted in many matches being predictable and tournaments being familiar and blunt. This one manifested a hunger to win which was clearly evident in the manner which the game was played on the field. The teams fought tooth and nail making the tournament alive and full of twists and turns with the brand of cricket on display.
But the questions is did the crowds come in? Did the advertisers get what they wanted? Did the tournament justify the $975 billion investment on part of the broadcaster?
Its time for some hard numbers:
The tournament managed to garner average TVRs of 1-1.5 leaving most advertisers aggrieved and unsure about this property. The crowds were sparse to say the least especially in Delhi where most matches were played with empty stadiums. No Indian teams advancing to the semi-finals did not help the cause much.
A true optimist would still say the Champions T20 league is an exciting concept which is new and would take some time to evolve and mature. Comparisons to the much more successful IPL has played a spoiler and had risen expectations on all fronts leading to overshooting valuations of high acquisition costs and subsequent high ad rates which would definitely see some serious correction next time round.