Twenty 20 Blog

The organizers of the Champions League T20 are being given a serious headache before the inaugural edition of the event as a spate of superstar drop-outs is threatening to ruin the interest level in the event.

Just a day after Jesse Ryder and Graeme Smith pulled out of the tournament, it has lost a couple of other major players as Australian fast bowler Nathan Bracken and South African batting dynamo have both declared their unavailability for the international T20 extravaganza.

While Bracken’s withdrawal was not unexpected, following his return from the ICC Champions Trophy, De Villiers’ exit would have come as a shock, especially considering that both he and South African skipper Graeme Smith have opted out to nurse old injuries, rather than from anything particularly serious.

Simon Keen has replaced Nathan Bracken in the NSW Blues’ squad. Keen has played one domestic Twenty20 match for NSW, with the 21-year-old left-handed batsman making his debut against Victoria in January 2009.

India hopeful Manoj Tiwary will replace AB de Villiers in the Delhi Daredevils’ line-up. De Villiers reported back pain in the lead-up to the ICC Champions Trophy and has been advised to rest for four to six weeks by the Cricket South Africa medical committee. Tiwary, 23, made his international debut against Australia in an ODI in February 2008. He has a strong domestic Twenty20 record, including 11 IPL appearances, with 374 runs at an average of 34.00 and strike rate of 119.87 from 17 matches.

James Pattinson is the third change of the day, he comes in for Damien Wright in the Victorian Bushrangers’ squad. Wright will miss the Champions League Twenty20 due to a calf strain. Pattinson is a 19-year-old all-rounder with one first-class match to his credit, but was a member of the Australia squad that competed in the ICC Under-19 World Cup in 2008.

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