Canada
International Stars to Shine at GT20 Canada Competition. Australian all-rounder Marcus Stoinis, Pakistan captain Babar Azam, vice-captain Mohammad Rizwan, and pace bowler Shaheen Shah Afridi are among the marquee cricket names slated to play in this summer’s GT20 Canada competition. The fourth edition of the T20 tournament runs from July 25 to August 11 in Brampton, Ontario.
Teams and Competition Structure
The six-team competition features the defending champion Montreal Tigers, Toronto Nationals, Brampton Wolves, Vancouver Knights, Surrey Jaguars, and Bangla Tigers Mississauga. Teams were chosen via draft, with sides allowed to retain a number of players from last year, if desired.
Canadian Talent on Display
This summer’s edition marks a homecoming for the 23rd-ranked Canada team that made its debut at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, currently in the Super-8 stage in the West Indies. Led by captain Saad Bin Zafar, the Canadians recorded their first win at the T20 World Cup when they beat No. 11 Ireland by 12 runs on June 7.
Zafar is joined on the Toronto Nationals roster by Canadian teammates Nicholas Kirton and Nikhil Dutta. Other Canadian World Cup team members taking part include Pargat Singh, Dilon Heyliger, and Rayyan Pathan (Bangla Tigers Mississauga), Aaron Johnson and Ravinderpal Singh (Brampton Wolves), Kaleem Sana and Dilpreet Singh Bajwa (Montreal Tigers), Shreyas Movva, Navneet Dhaliwal, and Junaid Siddiqui (Surrey Jaguars), and Jeremy Gordon and Rishiv Joshi (Vancouver Knights).
Returning Players and Historical Context
Players returning from last year include Logan van Beek of the Netherlands (Surrey Jaguars), Australia’s Chris Lynn, Sherfane Rutherford of the West Indies (Montreal Tigers), and New Zealand’s Colin Munro (Toronto Nationals).
The Vancouver Knights won the inaugural tournament in 2018, with the Winnipeg Hawks emerging victorious in 2019. There was no competition in 2020 or 2021 due to the pandemic.
Global Player Pool
The player pool draws on talent from Canada, Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, Italy, Malaysia, Namibia, Nepal, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Scotland, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, the U.S., and the West Indies. Notably, India does not allow its players to take part in foreign leagues unless they are retired from international cricket and not playing in the domestic IPL.
Global Broadcast Reach
The tournament is broadcast around the world, with markets outside of Canada tuning in to last year’s competition, including Australia, Bangladesh, India, Nepal, Pakistan, South Africa, the U.S., the United Kingdom, and the Middle East.
With a blend of international stars and local talent, the GT20 Canada promises to be a thrilling showcase of cricket, further solidifying Canada’s growing presence in the sport.
