India to go ahead with Twenty20 League as scheduled

MUMBAI  - India will host the inaugural Twenty20 Champions League between September 29 and October 8, defying the game's world chiefs who want the tournament to be rescheduled.

"The event will go ahead as scheduled," top Indian cricket board official Lalit Modi announced here Wednesday after a meeting with representatives from the Australian and South African boards.

"The three boards have reached an agreement to stage the inaugural Champions Twenty20 later this year," Modi said.

"This would mark the introduction of a long awaited football-style Champions League format for cricket, which will pit the best-of-the-best clubs in domestic cricket globally against each other."

The venues for the six-million dollar league, featuring eight Twenty20 domestic sides from around the world, would be decided later, Modi said.