Champions League T20 set to be relaunched; ICC mulls two-tier Test structure

Singapore City [Singapore], July 20 (ANI): A men's Champions League Twenty20 is set to be reintroduced as early as September next year, following strong support from key member nations at the International Cricket Council's (ICC) annual conference held in Singapore, as per The Sydney Morning Herald.
The future of Test cricket is also up for discussion, with talks of introducing a two-division format gaining traction. The ICC has now formalised a working group to rework the global cricket calendar starting from 2027, and a decision regarding Test cricket's structure could be taken before the year ends, according to sources familiar with the closed-door discussions.
There is a growing belief that the number of nations playing Test cricket might be capped. Only a handful of countries are able to generate revenue from the traditional format, and several others lack the infrastructure and systems to consistently build strong Test sides.
Among those part of the ICC's calendar working group are Cricket Australia CEO Todd Greenberg, England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chief Richard Gould, and the ICC's newly-appointed chief executive Sanjog Gupta. The group is expected to present interim findings to the ICC board, headed by Jay Shah, before the end of this year.
Gupta, who earlier served as the head of sport at Indian broadcasting giant JioStar, was closely involved in a recent report on cricket's calendar compiled by the global players' body. He has also publicly stated that market demand will ultimately determine the volume of Test and international cricket played in the years to come.
"You have to make hard choices," Gupta said on the MCC's World Cricket Connects panel at Lord's in 2023, as quoted from The Sydney Morning Herald.
"And there are very clear indicators of what fans want. There is enough data to suggest what direction the game is going in," he added.
"If you continue to serve a product that no one wants, one - that product will continue to suffer; and, two - the ecosystem around the product will continue to suffer. Blackberry disappeared at some point. It was a device that all of us had, it was a device that all of us were in the bait of using, then it disappeared, and it was replaced by another product," he noted.
The original T20 Champions League, which began in 2008, ran until 2014. It was eventually discontinued after ESPN Star, who had paid a hefty $1 billion for broadcasting rights decided to pull out, having initially missed out on securing the rights to the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Back then, the league was partnered by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), Cricket Australia, and Cricket South Africa. Interestingly, the broadcast revenue from that deal also helped fund the early years of the Big Bash League, which has since become a major commercial success in Australia.
Since those early days, the global T20 landscape has evolved massively. Today, many top players participate in multiple leagues throughout the year, sometimes even four or five different ones which will pose a major challenge for the Champions League's logistics and team selections.
Discussions are still ongoing regarding how revenue from the new tournament will be shared. There's also a parallel push for a different T20 tournament circuit, potentially funded by Saudi Arabia. (ANI)