TORONTO – International cricket stars Shahid Afridi, Chris Gayle, AndreRussell, Darren Sammy, Lasith Malinga, Steve Smith, Sunil Narine, ChrisLynn, David Miller and Dwayne Bravo will play Global T20 Canada, a newprofessional league in the Twenty20 format launched here on Thursday.
Along with the players, Cricket Canada and Mercuri Canada, revealed themark, teams and venue for the league, the first to be fully staged in NorthAmerica and set to run from June 28 to July 15.
Global T20 Canada will consist of six teams, five representing Canadiancities – Edmonton Royals, Montreal Tigers, Toronto Nationals, VancouverKnights and Winnipeg Hawks – with a sixth, Cricket West Indiesrepresentative team, consisting entirely of players from the Caribbean, aspart of an official partnership with Cricket West Indies.
Speaking about this association, Cricket West Indies (CWI) President, DaveCameron, said, “On behalf of CWI, I would like to wish Global T20 Canadamuch success. The growth of our region will largely depend on the successof leagues and tournaments like this. We support Cricket Canada and lookforward to working even closer going forward, so congratulations and allthe best to Cricket Canada and Mercuri Group.”
Teams will be stocked with players through a draft that will take place onMay 30. Four roster spots will be set aside for Canadians reflectingorganizers’ plan to leverage the league to develop future Canadian talentthat will lead the men’s national team to success in internationalcompetitions, in both the Twenty20 and Test formats.
The league will comprise 22 matches culminating in playoffs and thechampionship match on July 16. All contests will take place at Maple LeafCricket Club, a cricket-specific facility just north of Toronto that willbe expanded to a capacity of 7,000 seats. “Global T20 Canada marks thefirst time a nation with associate member status is launching a league – amajor step forward in cricket’s global development,” says Ranjit Saini,President, Cricket Canada.
“Canadian cricket fans will have a great opportunity to see up close manyof the world’s greatest players, and I’d like to thank InternationalCricket Council, CWI and the international cricket community for theirguidance and support in growing cricket in Canada.”
As the newest international league in the format, Global T20 Canada joins agrowing list of competitions in India, Australia, Pakistan, Bangladesh, andthe Caribbean.
Driven by the success of Indian Premier League and Australia’s Big Bash,the Twenty20 format has exploded in popularity with its pageantry, colour,pop culture elements, and shorter match duration. Mercuri Canada, whichsigned a 25-year deal with Cricket Canada to manage and operate the league,plans to grow and develop the league to one day rival its globalcounterparts. League broadcast partners, the broadcast schedule and ticketinformation will be announced in the coming days.