So swiftly has the game changed that it's difficult to believe this tournament is a year late, but having been postponed by ten months following the Mumbai terror attacks in 2008 the Champions League is now ready to change the face of club cricket.

Twenty20 cynics may scoff at the suggestion, but the proof is in the numbers. $2.5m is up for grabs at this tournament - more than Durham received for winning the County Championship this year - and even teams who don't make it beyond the group stage will pocket $600,000. Add to that extra sponsorships such as the Cobras' sponsorship deal with a local mobile phone company and the effect this tournament could have is undeniable.

The increasing flow of money into cricket should be welcomed so long as the dangers are recognised. If a healthy proportion of it is set aside for the promotion and development of the game then all the better. Organisers insist that the way revenue is split here should prevent a gap opening up between rich and poor in the same way that football's Champions League has ruined competition in domestic leagues. Each national board receives $500,000 per franchise representing them in the Champions League Twenty20, so the hope is that that money will be filtered down to clubs who haven't qualified.

Yet when Somerset and Sussex are guaranteed $600,000 each and the ECB have just $1m to share among the other 16 counties there is an obvious disparity. The biggest concern is that the gold rush in domestic twenty20 leagues will lead to franchises over-extending themselves financially and coming up short.

Those clubs watching back home will certainly take solace in the knowledge that it's only twenty20 and any team can beat any other on their day. The playing field is leveled, although the extent of that theory will be tested over the next year or so as the full effects of the Champions League become apparent and its participants use the new revenue to move for the world's best twenty20 players.

The full stretch of fans' appetite for twenty20 cricket will also be tested during this tournament. Demand for cricket in India, and particularly for the shortest format of the game, is unparalleled but how many fans will show an interest in a clash between the Eagles and Trinidad and Tobago? Organisers have cleverly included a game involving the home team on most match days to attract the local support, but at some stage supply is expected to exceed demand and it will be interesting to see exactly when that moment comes.

A big part of Lalit Modi's twenty20 drive has centred around building global brands. That still seems optimistic, as for fans in England, Australia and South Africa the IPL is too long and distant, but the Champions League could go some way to piquing interest outside of the subcontinent.

As far as the cricket itself goes, it's anyone's game. It's not a meeting of 'only the champions' as Rahul Dravid and friends suggest in the television ads - just like the Uefa Champions League is not a genuine Champions League - but all 12 teams have real pedigree. For many players uncapped at international level this is an excellent opportunity to showcase their skills and it should be thoroughly enjoyable to see which of them can handle the added pressure of playing in front of massive partisan crowds.

That support from the locals will be of greater benefit to the home sides than their knowledge of local conditions, while their ability to field their best eleven - as opposed to the IPL when they're hamstrung by a rule allowing only four foreign players in the starting line-up - will also add to their considerable strength. They will start as favourites but the unforgiving format ensures that every game matters in this tournament, so there are bound to be some shocks.

The traditionalists will see the next 16 days as an opportunity to switch off from the game and ignore the hooplah but for twenty20 enthusiasts the potential is obvious. The international game will always be tops and so it should be, but this tournament is proof that the club game has narrowed the gap.

Tristan Holme in Bangalore