Swing away, fellows!

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Cricket fans in the country have another reason to cheer – the T20 Champions League! Yeah baby, this month will see the top three teams from IPL 3 – Chennai Super Kings, Mumbai Indians and Royal Challengers Bangalore battle it out with teams from other countries. Cricket fans are super kicked about the league where they will see their favourite players and teams in action.

Venkat Kishore, a 12th grader, is excited about the league that will see teams from across the world. “T20 is something that the world wants. It’s faster, quicker and anyone can watch it. Even those who earlier liked tests and ODIs like T20,” he says.
Being a Sachin Tendulkar fan, Venkat will be rooting for Mumbai Indians. “I like the way he holds the team together. In the IPL, the Deccan Chargers was my favourite team – it’s sad that they didn’t make it.”
Every team has its own strengths and weaknesses and it’s difficult to predict which team is stronger, says Venkat, adding, “But looking at the previous IPL seasons, Chennai seems to be the most consistent team. CSK looks like the better team.”
For cricket buff Archit Bhandari, who is waiting to start his engineering course, the Champions League will be a great way to pass time. “Last time, I had exams, so I couldn’t go to the stadium and watch it. This time, I have the time, but unfortunately, it’s being held in south Africa!” he says.
Being a Bengalurean, his favourite team is RCB. “They came till the finals and lost in IPL 2, and in IPL 3, they came till the semi-finals. It shows that they have the potential and just need a little bit of luck. But I don’t mind other Indian teams winning also. Either CSK, MI or RCB should win the title,” he says.
His favourite player is Rahul Dravid, who he believes proved his ‘test player’ tag wrong by staying on, when many so-called T20 players got out quickly. Archit is planning to get together with his friends at one of their houses and watch the matches together. “If it’s a night match, we’ll have a sleepover,” says the cricket buff.
For third year fashion designing student, Deeptha Raghunath, RCB comes across as the strongest Indian team.
“But you can’t really predict anything. It all depends on the day and place. My favourite player is Uthappa; I like him for his consistent performance in IPL 3. With teams from different countries fighting it out, this will be one helluva’ competition,” she feels.