The Champions League Twenty20 has the potential to be one of the world’s biggest cricket tournaments, former Australia opening batsman Matthew Hayden said on Sunday.

Hayden is part of the Chennai Super Kings squad which will compete in the tournament scheduled to start in Johannesburg on Friday.

“I think this tournament has got the potential to be the biggest tournament currently played, and that’s including some of the World Cups,” Hayden told reporters in Durban ahead of his team’s first training session since arriving in South Africa.

“It (Champions League) has got such gravitas in the market and it is a huge tournament for cricket. The future of Franchise cricket is very strong with a pathway to a championship like this,” he added.

Chennai are the reigning Indian Premier League (IPL) champions and Hayden is confident that the Super Kings can replicate their form in South Africa for the Champions League.

“We have got a good cross-section of international players who have been in good form,” he said, “I think that we have got most areas covered really well and I guess that’s what T20 cricket is all about.”

“You’ve got to be able to complete two skill sets exceptionally well to be part of the Chennai Super Kings. You’ve either got to be able to bat and field well, or bowl and bat well.

“Take a guy like Suresh Raina. He’s a great batter, he can bowl off-spin and he is exceptional in the field,” Hayden explained.

Hayden is now 38-years-old but he looks as fit as he did when he last played for Australia in a test in January 2009.

THE MONGOOSE

The left-handed batsman garnered much attention during the last edition of the IPL for his use of the Mongoose bat, a bat with a longer handle and shorter blade specifically designed for T20 cricket.

Hayden was pleased to announce that he would make use of the bat during the Champions League.

“From my point of view anything that brings innovation to our game is a huge benefit. It gets people talking and it gets people interested in the game.

“We are prospering enormously at all levels of the game from the emergence of T20 cricket but we have got a long way to go in terms of how innovative and creative we can be.”

Chennai have been grouped with the Chevrolet Warriors for the Champions League but Hayden, who admitted to knowing very little about the South African outfit, does not believe that conditions would favour the local side too much.

Hayden pointed to Chennai’s impressive run during the 2009 edition of the IPL held in South Africa, when they were semi-finalists, as being a key aspect to how his team would adapt to South African conditions.

“This is our second run here as a side so I don’t think there are too many secrets that are there to be discovered,” he concluded.

Chennai open their Champions League campaign against New Zealand’s Central Districts Stags at Kingsmead in Durban on September 11.