After their unsuccessful T20 World Cup campaign in Sri Lanka, it will be a chance for the Indian players to redeem themselves in the Champions League T20 which gets underway from today.
There are four Indian Premier League teams in the fray in the cash-rich tournament, including defending champion Mumbai Indians (MI) and this season’s IPL winner Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), says a report in The Hindu.
The other two IPL sides are former champion Chennai Super Kings (CSK) and Delhi Daredvils (DD).
It would be interesting to watch the earnestness of the Indian cricketers, eager to erase the scars of their Super Eight elimination in the ICC World Twenty20.
While KKR and DD have been placed in Group A, the other two are in Group B, raising hopes of an all India clash in the semifinals, as the top two teams from each group will qualify for the knockout stage.
However, in no sense it would be an easy task for the Indian outfits as they will be up against some of the best T20 outfits of the world.
And with Titans and Highveld Lions, both from South Africa, enjoying home advantage, the task for the Indian units will be even more cut out.
Apart from the two African teams, the championship also has Australia’s Perth Scorchers, which boasts of players like Shaun Marsh and Herschelle Gibbs.
The other Aussie side in fray is Sydney Sixers. With the presence of Shane Watson, along with young pace sensation Mitchell Starc and skipper Brad Haddin in the line-up, the Sixers definitely look a side to be watched out for.
The tournament will also witness Auckland Aces and Yorkshire, both of whom made it to the main draw after topping their respective pools in the just concluded qualifiers.
The Indian challenge will start with a battle between KKR and DD. While the Gautam Gambhir-led KKR would be out there to prove that its victory in the IPL V was no fluke, DD, under Mahela Jayawardene, would like to stamp its authority on the tournament in which it has so far remained an underachiever
Meanwhile a report in The Times of India writes that There's no reason why the tournament shouldn't be a cracker. The teams that are on board, the reputation that some of the entertainers carry and the television audiences - across Africa, Asia and Australia - that are likely to blur global time differences, will all be on the same page, rooting for some player, some team, some nation or the other.
Saturday's opening match, at 5 pm India time, is between the Titans from South Africa and Perth Scorchers from Australia, two teams that have regularly topped the respective T20 leagues in their country's domestic circuit.
The next match, starting 9 pm, is a clincher - reigning IPL champions Kolkata Knight Riders led by Gautam Gambhir versus the Delhi Daredevils, boosted by the return of a fit-again Virender Sehwag.
If Saturday promises to be entertaining, Sunday promises to be a sizzler. At 5 pm, the Chennai Super Kings, always the favourite for anything resembling T20, face Sydney Sixers, who boast of having players of the caliber of Shane Watson, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and Brad Haddinamong others.
Four hours later, defending champions, the Mumbai Indians, starring Sachin Tendulkar andHarbhajan Singh enter the field as they take on the Lions, who lack in reputation, but not in experience.