MUMBAI: The fourth edition of the Champions League T20 will be hosted by South Africa, CL T20 CEO Sundar Raman said.

The CL T20 will be held in October after the ICC Twenty20 World Cup in Sri Lanka. The tournament will be played at Cape Town, Johannesburg, Centurion and Durban.

It is believed that Durga Puja and monsoon are being cited as the reasons for shifting as their timings will coincide with the schedule of the tournament.

"South Africa will host CLT20 this year. All other details to follow soon," Raman, who is also a member of the CLT20?s technical committee, posted on his Twitter page.

Meanwhile, seven teams have already qualified for the tournament.

IPL 2012 champions Kolkata Knight Riders will join runners-up Chennai Super Kings and third-placed Delhi Daredevils as India?s three representatives in the tournament.

Big Bash League champions Sydney Sixers and runners-up Perth Scorchers are the two Australian teams that will be a part of CLT20 2012. From South Africa the Nashua Titans and the Highveld Lions, MiWay T20 Challenge champions and runners-up respectively, will turn up for the tournament.

Apart from the above mentioned seven confirmed teams, three more teams will feature in the multi-national T20 league. A qualifying series will precede the main CLT20 tournament and it will include the domestic T20 champions from Sri Lanka, New Zealand, West Indies, Pakistan and England.

This is the second time South Africa will host the tournament. It had first hosted the tournament in 2010. The first and third editions of the tournament were held in India.

The move will not go down well with the IPL franchises who were insisting on keeping the tournament in India.

MUMBAI: The probe into alleged financial irregularities in the Indian Premier League (IPL) was progressing and has reached adjudication level, the Enforcement Directorate has informed the Sports ministry.

Sports minister Ajay Maken had written a letter to the ED on 17 May seeking a speedy probe into the alleged irregularities committed by the BCCI as well as the franchises.

"The ministry has got a response from the ED and they have informed that the cases of alleged violations under the forex rules have entered the adjudication stage. The penal processes will begin soon in the notices sent under FEMA laws," PTI quotes a source privy to the development as saying.

The Finance Ministry has slapped 19 notices to BCCI on alleged foreign exchange violations to the tune of Rs 10.77 billion relating to the IPL.

Maken had also called for an investigation by the ED and Income Tax department whether the players were paid through black money following a sting operation which showed domestic players claiming that they received more money than the prescribed salary cap of the BCCI.

The ministry, which has been at loggerheads with the BCCI, had also written to the revenue secretary seeking an inquiry whether black money was being used in conducting the IPL.

MUMBAI: The cash-strapped Sri Lanka Cricket board (SLC) has set a floor price of $3 million for the T20 league franchises, a paltry amount compared to the IPL.

When IPL launched in 2008, it had fixed a minimum price of $50 million, which later zoomed to $225 million when two teams were added in 2010.

The SLC said it will lease out seven teams for a period of seven years and has set in motion the process of identifying franchises for the Sri Lanka Premier League. Bids are invited for the T20 league which has been formed on the lines of cash rich Indian Premier League.

The last day to submit bids is 25 June, while the names of successful bidders will be announced the same day. Interested entities can bid for a maximum of three franchises.

The first edition of SLPL Twenty20 will feature seven provincial teams who will play a total of 24 matches at two venues Colombo and Pallekele. The SLPL will be played from 10-31 August before the ICC Twenty20 World Cup which will be held in Sri Lanka.

Each team will be allowed to have only 18 players in their squad with a compulsory ruling of no more than six overseas players in each squad.

However, teams can field only four overseas players in the playing eleven, while the remaining seven players will be Sri Lankan?s with one player mandatorily being an under-21 cricketer.

The players will be selected through draft process with players being divided into two groups. The first group will consist of players from Sri Lanka while the second group will include foreign players.

It was the Indian cricket board?s reluctance to allow Indian players in the SLPL that led to the postponement of the league last year.

However, the SLC has made it clear that it will go ahead with the league even without Indian players. "We will go ahead with the tournament with or without Indian players," SLC Secretary Nishantha Ranatunga said.

The Sri Lankan board has got the commitment of most full member countries, who have committed to release their players for the tournament, he added.

Somerset Entertainment Ventures is commercial rights holder for the tournament.

All the matches of SLPL will be televised live by Carlton Sports in Sri Lanka. CSN is owned by family members of Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa.