A mix of state, county, regional and franchise teams will battle it out for a US$ 6 million cash prize, with $2.5 million going to the winners. The unpredictability of the format is enhanced by the fact that there is little history between the teams, though many of the players would be familiar to each other as team-mates at some level.
That element of uncertainty was summed up by Herschelle Gibbs, a key player for the Cobras. "We have a good team and a lot of the guys have been around for a while but this is Twenty20 and anything can happen. As I said earlier it is about the team performing well on a given day that wins matches, but I think Royal Challengers will be one of the favourites."
There will certainly be a lot of anticipation in Bangalore, where the game itself is to be preceded by what the organisers claim will be a lavish ceremony featuring legendary Grammy award winner Chaka Khan and British pop star Jamelia. "It has been a while since Royal Challengers have played at home", Anil Kumble, the Bangalore captain, said. "It's almost a year now... more than a year. Everybody is looking forward to that and we will certainly take advantage of home support."
