HYDERABAD, (IANS) The qualifying round of Champions League Twenty20 is beginning at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium here today. Ruhunu Eleven of Sri Lanka will take on the Caribbean’s Trinidad and Tobago in the first qualifier while the second game will be played between India’s Kolkata Knight Riders and New Zealand’s Auckland Aces.
England’s Leicestershire and Somerset are the other two teams in the CLT20 qualifiers for three spots in the main tournament, beginning in Bangalore Sep 23
Ruhunu skipper Mahela Udawatta told reporters yesterday that they were hopeful of a good start from the batsmen led by Sanath Janasuriya.
‘Jayasuriya is a great player with a vast experience. We are lucky to have him in our side,’ he said.
Ruhunu is facing a determined Trinidad and Tobago led by Darren Ganga. ‘We will play as a national team and hope to have a great start,’ he said.
Ganga said they would try to improve on their performance in 2009, when they had reached the semi-finals.
Jacques Kallis will lead Kolkata Knight Riders in their opening tie against Kiwi side in the absence of Gautam Gambhir, who has been ruled out of the qualifiers due to injury he suffered during the England-India Test series.
With quality players like Eoin Morgan, Brett Lee, Yusuf Pathan, Manoj Tiwary and Laxmipathy Balaji, KKR has an edge over Auckland Aces.
Captain Gareth Hopkins, Martin Guptill, Chris Martin, Daryl Tuffey and Kyle Mills are among some key international players in the Kiwi side.
Thirteen teams will compete in the tournament, which will be played in Bangalore, Chennai and Kolkata.