BCCI Declines ECB's Twenty-20 Invitation

The Board of Control for Cricket in India has rejected England's invitation to play in their version of the Champions League, to be held in Sharjah in October, giving a new twist to the wrangling between the two boards over the Twenty20 event.

The BCCI vice-president and IPL commissioner Lalit Modi has conveyed India’s decision to the ECB chief executive David Collier, who had sent the Invitation.

India’s refusal to take part in ECB’s Twenty20 initiative came a day after the BCCI made it clear that it would go ahead with its own version of the Champions League, and was prepared to leave out teams from England if they did not agree to the terms and conditions. The BCCI replied on Monday saying that although it wished the ECB all the best with its tournament, it was not in a position to accept the invitation.

Modi has also clearly informed the eight IPL franchises that they can participate only in tournaments run and approved by the BCCI.

That ECB offer said that their tournament will be held in Sharjah, which was blacklisted by the Indian government following allegations of match-fixing. That could be another reason for India skipping the event.

"No Indian team will be going there, at least not with the BCCI's permission," cricinfo quoted sources close to Modi as saying.

The Indian board has already announced the dates and venues of its own Champions League. New Delhi, Mohali and Jaipur have been named as the venues for the tournament, to be held from September 29 to October 8.

Both BCCI and ECB are insisting on staging their versions of the Champions League.