The 6th Champions League Twenty20 tournament will commence with the winners of the Sri Lanka domestic T20 championship, Southern Express taking on New Zealand’s reigning T20 kings, Northern Districts in the curtain-raiser on the 13th of September at Raipur.
Qualifying stage matches are to be played in Raipur from September 13th to 16th while the main tournament will consist of 10 teams battling out to be the champions of champions.
Four teams namely, Southern Express, Northern Districts, Mumbai Indians and Pakistan T20 winners, Lahore Lions will go head to head to claim their place in the main tournament.
The Sri Lankan champions won the SLC Super Fours Tournament and qualified for the Champions League T20 beating Udarata Rulers by 4 runs in the final played in July. ICC World T20 winning skipper Lasith Malinga continued his good luck with securing silverware when he led his hometown team to victory despite limited resources.
Southern Express will have to win at least 2 games in the qualifying round though they will be up against 3 competitive teams who are no strangers to win T20 games. With 7 Sri Lanka capped players in the squad, Southern Express will rely on their seasoned campaigners to deliver the goods.
Veteran batsman Jehan Mubarak will lead the Southern Express boys after their regular skipper Lasith Malinga opted to play for his IPL franchisee Mumbai Indians and coincidentally both these teams will play each other in the qualifying stages of this unique T20 championship where the T20 champions of their respective countries vie in a battleground open for the world.
Tall left-handed Jehan gave his opinion with www.thepapare.com on their chances in India “We enjoy being the underdogs, even in the super 4’s tournament we were not the favourites, but we stayed relaxed under pressure and delivered when it mattered. We have a good mix of youth and experience, each person knows his role within the team as all are equally capable of contributing to the team’s success.”
When asked how they will be looking to go-forward in the tournament, Mubarak was determined in sticking to a successful plan, “It is vital that we win the first game against Northern Districts. It’s very hard to come back into such a short tournament, if we lose the first game. We will be playing against unfamiliar opposition in unfamiliar conditions, and reading the conditions and the opposition will be a key part of winning matches. “he added.
Batting
Top order batting will revolve around Sri Lanka’s best T20 dasher, Kusal Janith Perera and he is expected to open the batting with the Emerging Player of the Year, Niroshan Dickwella. Dhanushka Gunathilake has been scoring heavily recently while Jehan Mubarak and Angelo Perera would provide ideal impetus into a dangerous set of all-rounders in the middle-order, Seekuge Prasanna, Farveez Maharoof and Dilruwan Perera.
Bowling
With Malinga’s absence, Southern Express will need their spinners, Dilruwan Perera, Seekuge Prasanna to lead an inexperienced bowling attack. Left-arm spinner Sachith Pathirana was in brilliant form in the Super Fours Tournament and he will be itching to work his magic in India. The pace battalion will be led by Farveez Maharoof, Charith Jayampathy and Ishan Jayaratne and they will have a rough work load on flat Indian surfaces.
The all-round skills of TM Dilshan will be dearly missed as he opted out of the tournament in the 11th hour citing family commitments. Southern Express manager Shane Fernando said on Dilshan’s loss, “As far as Dilshan is concerned he didn’t attend the practice and played games. Obviously he is big player and a great batsman. But we have a good balanced side and are looking to do well in the championship.”
Final Prediction
The Lankan boys will struggle to beat the Mumbai Indians but they will qualify for the main tournament beating Northern Districts and CLT20 debutants from Pakistan, Lahore Lions. If Southern Express qualify, The express boys will hope to topple big franchises.
Full Squad
Jehan Mubarak (Captain), Niroshan Dickwella, Charith Jayampathy, Yashoda Lanka, Farveez Maharoof, Sachith Pathirana, Dilruwan Perera, Seekkuge Prasanna, Danushka Gunathilaka, Ishan Jayarathne, Kasun Madushanka, Angelo Perera, Kusal Perera, Lakshan Rangika, TN Sampath
