WITH the Champions League T20 2014 set to start today, the cricket-loving public of India will be buzzing with excitement. Fans will make a beeline entry into stadiums to watch their heroes showcase their supreme skills. 

Let’s look at the teams who will play in the qualifying round of the CLT20 2014.

Southern Express
Southern Express will represent Sri Lanka in the Champions League T20 2014. They qualified for the glitzy and glamorous event by defeating Udarts Rulers in the final of Super 4s T20. Jehan Mubarak will lead the side and look to take them to dizzying heights. Kusal Perera, known for his ability to play splendorous strokes will be their key player.
Farveez Maharoof, the all-rounder and Dilruwan Perera, the off-spinner, also would look to make their mark. They will though, miss the services of Lasith Malinga, as the speedster has opted to play for Mumbai Indians.
Tillakaratne Dilshan has dropped out of the tournament as well due to personal reasons. Naveed Nawaz, a prolific run-getter in Sri Lanka’s domestic cricket in the 1990s will coach the unit.

Northern Districts
Northern Districts are the current Champions of HRV Cup in New Zealand. It was their maiden title in the T20 format. Northern Districts will depend on the likes of Kane Williamson, Trent Boult, Daniel Harris, Daniel Flynn, Ish Sodhi and company to leave an indelible mark in the tournament. They surely need the wisdom of experience from Harris to fire on all cylinders.
Boult will have to make crucial breakthroughs upfront. Northern Districts come across as the dark horses of the tournament.

Lahore Lions
Lahore Lions, captained by Mohammad Hafeez, is the second most successful outfit after Sialkot Stallions in Pakistan’s domestic T20 cricket. They qualified for CLT20 2014 by winning the Fayasal Bank T20 tournament – Pakistan’s premier T20 domestic competition.
With an amalgam of experience and youthful exuberance in their ranks, Lahore are expected to glow brightly in the tournament. Hafeez, Wahab Riaz, Umar Akmal, Nasir Jamshed, Ahmed Shehzad and company can provide that volcanic burst of freshness to help Lahore to scale to great heights.

Mumbai Indians
Mumbai Indians, the 2011 and 2013 CLT20 champions, would look to shine brightly this year. Players of the calibre of Kieron Pollard, Lasith Malinga, Harbhajan Singh, Michael Hussey and Lendl Simmons have the ability to essay stunning turnarounds and help their team to taste the glory of victory and uncork the champagne. In-fact, Mumbai along with Lahore are the favourites to qualify for the main draw of CLT20 2014.
However, they would miss the services of their captain and key batsman, Rohit Sharma, due to injury. It a huge blow to Mumbai, as Rohit can play on the up and through the line fearlessly.
All the teams playing in the qualifying round would look to aim at reaching the pinnacle of success by touching stratospheric peaks. Only two teams can qualify for the main draw made up of two groups. The competition to make it to the next round will certainly be intense. Hopefully, it will turn out to be a tournament full of slick plot-twists and high-adrenaline action