Twelve teams will be eyeing a $6 million
purse of the Champions League T20 to be
held from September 13 to October 4. Such
is the format of the tournament that it allows
no scope of laxity at any stage. Champions in
2013, Mumbai Indians are not secure of a
place in the main draw and will have to earn
their right to defend the title by doing well in
the qualifiers. Unavailability of their captain
Rohit Sharma due to injury has also done no
good to the Mumbai-based team.
Gocricket.com takes a look at the captains of
the respective teams:
Rayad Emrit [Barbados Tridents]
Rayad Emrit is not a name that other teams
in the CL T20 would fear, but the 33-year-old
is a useful allrounder and a regular feature of
his team in West Indies' domestic leagues.
Emrit will lead Barbados Tridents in the
absence of regular skipper Kieron Pollard,
who is leading Mumbai Indians in the
tournament. Rayad has also received
encouragement from former West Indian
opening batsman and current coach Desmond
Haynes. Haynes has called Rayad as a
"natural leader" who takes "straight-forward"
decisions.
Justin Ontong [Cape Cobras]
Ontong last represented South Africa in a
Twenty20 international in March 2013 against
Pakistan at Centurion. He had failed to open
his account in the match which Pakistan won
by 95 runs. He never played for South Africa
again, but he has put his past behind and
made a comeback in the domestic game. His
solid scores in South Africa's domestic
leagues forced the selectors to hand him the
South Africa 'A' team's captaincy. Ontong
has also led Cobras to two successive
domestic titles, the most emphatic being an
innings and 165-run victory over Lions, in
which Ontong scored a sparkling century.
However, come the CL T20 and he will face
stiff opposition from this year's IPL runners-
up - the Kings XI Punjab. Cobras will rely on
Ontong's form and captaincy for a successful
tournament.
MS Dhoni [Chennai Super Kings]
In the eye of a storm over his captaincy in
the recently-concluded Test series and the
one-off T20I at Edgbaston against England,
MS Dhoni will try to put the past behind at
the CLT20. By refusing singles in Edgbaston,
Dhoni also demonstrated the not-so-cool
aspect of his captaincy. One might argue that
he decided to take the responsibility upon
himself but it also revealed the other aspect -
his lack of faith in his batting partner. For a
man who is renowned for his ultra-cool head
and for soaking up pressure in demanding
situations, the 2014 Champions League T20
might just present an opportunity to reinvent.
Chennai Super Kings would hope that their
skipper returns to some home comfort and
enjoys captaincy more than ever. More than
the opposition, Dhoni's fight against his own
demons would determine CSK's fate in the
tournament.
Adam Voges [Perth Scorchers]
Australian batsman Adam Voges was handed
the captaincy of the Perth Scorchers just
days before the tournament was to begin.
Voges has been handed the task of delivering
more silverware to the WACA trophy cabinet.
Voges replaces the recently retired Simon
Katich, and believes his side is capable of
continuing the run of success the Twenty20
outfit has experienced in their brief history.
Voges is also getting good support from his
coach Justin Langer, who in an interview has
already made it clear that they will be go
with just one thing in mind: "win the CLT20."
Tim Paine [Hobart Hurricanes]
Coming back from multiple injuries, Tim
Paine will be hoping to regain the touch that
once saw him represent Australia in Tests,
ODIs and T20Is from 2009 to 2011. Paine is
a fantastic batsman and an athletic
wicketkeeper. Once considered the natural
successor to Brad Haddin, Paine's career has
been hit by injuries. He will lead a team
which includes the likes of Xavier Doherty,
Ben Dunk, Ben Hilfenhaus and Shoaib Malik
among others. It would be interesting to see
how he marshals his resources during the
CLT20.
George Bailey [Kings XI Punjab]
The ever smiling Kings XI Punjab captain was
one of his team's driving forces in their run
to the IPL final. Bailey, along with coach
Sanjay Bangar were instrumental in the rise
of fringe players like Wridhimann Saha,
Manan Vohra, Sandeep Sharma and Akshar
Patel. One of the trademarks of his captaincy
during the IPL was his encouragement of
untested players. Recently, Bailey quit as
Australia's T20 captain in order to focus on
his career in the longer format and it would
be an interesting face-off when he leads
KXIP against home team Hobart Hurricanes
on September 19.
Gautam Gambhir [Kolkata Knight Riders]
One man who would be waiting for the
commencement of CLT20 more than anyone
else would be Gautam Gambhir. After the
high of IPL 2014, where he led Kolkata Knight
Riders to their second title, Gambhir had a
forgettable tour of England and would be
itching to set things right. Success in the
Tests against England would have given him
much more satisfaction, but Gambhir would
eye it as a platform to once again stake
claim for a spot in India's 2015 World Cup
team, though that may be a distant dream
right now. Gambhir leads a bunch of
enthusiastic players in the form of Robin
Uthappa, Manish Pandey and Suryakumar
Yadav among others and has proven his
credentials as a captain. KKR under
Gambhir's leadership will be a tough nut to
crack.
Morne van Wyk [Dolphins]
South Africa's Morne van Wyk is a vital cog
in the Dolphins team. Van Wyk brings with
him all-round capabilities needed to guide a
young team that is less on international
experience. The 35-year-old Bloemfontein-
born player is a right-hand batsman who
also bowls slow left-arm when not donning
the keeping gloves. The former Kolkata
Knight Riders player was the captain of the
team which won the South African domestic
T20 championship and if form is anything to
go by, Dolphins will pose a tough challenge
for the more fancied sides in this tournament.
The Qualifiers:
Among the four teams in the qualification,
Lahore Lions enjoy the most settled
leadership at the helm in the form of
Mohammad Hafeez . Hafeez quit as
Pakistan's T20 skipper after his team's
group-stage exit in the ICC World T20 held in
Bangladesh earlier in the year. By taking the
responsibility upon himself, Hafeez proved
that team interest was always his first
priority. He led the Lions to victory in the
domestic T20 tournament in Pakistan which
gave them a chance to showcase their talent
in the Champions League. Leading Pakistan
is not an easy task but his 18 wins in 29
T20Is as Pakistan captain is likely to hold
him good.
On the other hand, the much fancied
defending champions Mumbai Indians will be
led by West Indies allrounder Kieron Pollard ,
who has got this chance because of an injury
to regular captain Rohit Sharma. However, it
will be a huge chance for Pollard to showcase
his captaincy skills to the world.
Another team in the qualification round is
Northern Knights from New Zealand. The
Knights will be led by Daniel Flynn, a
powerful left-hand batsman. Captaincy is not
new to Flynn as he led the New Zealand
Under-19 team in the 2004 World Cup. Sri
Lanka's Southern Express will also aim to
make it to the main draw under Jehan
Mubarak's leadership. Mubarak, a left-hand
batsman and a right-arm offbreak bowler, has
represented his national team in 16 T20Is. At
33, Mubarak will aim to prove his credentials
as a captain in the CLT20.