CLT20-Inspired World Club Championship Featuring IPL, Big Bash, SA20 Champions Set to Be Launched in 2026

Despite its massive $6 million prize pool and lucrative broadcasting deals, the CLT20 struggled to generate widespread interest. Nevertheless, it did offer a platform and significant financial incentives to lesser-known franchises.

However, CLT20’s future became uncertain after the 2015 edition was cancelled due to low viewership and conflicts with international schedule, ultimately leading to the competition’s permanent discontinuation. 

Another major reason for the CLT20 to fall off was the limited number of T20 leagues worldwide at the time. However, over the past decade, many countries have launched their own short-format leagues, such as The Hundred (England), SA20 (South Africa), ILT20 (UAE), MLC (USA), PSL (Pakistan), GlobalT20 (Canada), and LPL (Sri Lanka), among others, leading to calls for the revival for a CLT20-style tournament.

Cricket West Indies even launched the Global Super League a year ago in an effort to revive such a competition. Nonetheless, the ECB is now reportedly exploring a revamped World Club Championship, drawing inspiration from the defunct CLT20 and the re-organized football FIFA Club World Cup. Plans for this new global tournament are said to be underway, with the ECB targeting a 2026 launch.

ECB chief executive Richard Gould most recently, shared his views that a global club tournament, for both men and women, would be the ‘next logical step’ in providing context to the surge in franchise cricket. Gould, who was the interestingly, the chief executive of Somerset Sabres, when it participated in the 2009 edition of the CLT20, added the competition failed because it was ahead of its time and could not meet the high expectations for a global franchise tournament. Gould said, about a revamped CLT20 (H/T ESPNCricinfo):

That is on the cards. Without doubt, at some point, there will be a World Club Championship, for both men and women. That’s the next logical step.

However, any new World Club Cricket Championship would require strong support from the BCCI, given its status as the richest and most influential cricket body globally, and with the IPL being one of the most popular sporting events in the world. Moreover, this new league could also face stiff competition from the proposed Saudi Arabian Grand-Slam cricketing event.

A Decade On: Revisiting the CLT20 Records from 2009 to 2014

The CLT20, which ran from 2009 to 2014, was once considered the top global club cricket tournament before it ceased operations. Cricket Australia, Cricket South Africa, and the BCCI jointly owned the competition, with former Indian cricket administrator N. Srinivasan serving as its chairman.

After the 2008 edition was canceled due to the Mumbai attacks, in 2009, Australia’s New South Wales emerged as champions, followed by Chennai Super Kings in 2010, Mumbai Indians in 2011, Sydney Sixers in 2012, MI again in 2013, and CSK in 2014. Additionally, six other teams reached the final; Kolkata Knight Riders, Lions, Rajasthan Royals, Royal Challengers Bengaluru, Warriors, and Trinidad and Tobago.

Looking at player statistics, Suresh Raina holds the record for most runs in CLT20 history, with 842 runs, followed by Kieron Pollard (649 runs) and David Warner (556 runs). On the bowling front, Sunil Narine leads with 35 wickets, ahead of Dwayne Bravo (30 wickets) and Doug Bollinger (28 wickets).