After a successful first season, Global T20 Canada looks to have second gala year

T20 cricket is by far the most popular format of the game in the world. Apart from the big nations, the fringe players have also come up with their own tournaments in the same and participation of some of the big names of world cricket makes them as popular. The Global T20 Canada is one such tournament that has drawn global attention after its first edition held in June-July last year in Ontario.

The competition was conceptualized and hosted in less than 30 days time and it definitely featured some of the best T20 players from across the world, including the likes of Andre Russell, Chris Gayle, Steve Smith, David Warner, Sunil Narine and others. Each of these names has made it big in T20 tournaments across the cricketing world, including the Indian Premier League.

The inaugural edition was held at Maple Leaf Country Club in King City, Ontario, which is the primary cricket centre in Canada now, taking the place of Toronto Cricket Skating & Curling Club which had hosted the three editions of the Sahara Cup between India and Pakistan between 1996 and 1998.

The enthusiasm that was generated after the inaugural edition has now made way for the second one this July, after the end of the ICC World Cup on July 14.

Vancouver Nights won the inaugural title

Last year, the Vancouver Nights had won the title defeating Cricket West Indies ‘B’ team in the final by 7 wickets. It was a star-studded final in the likes of Gayle, Russell, Tim Southee and other international names. Pakistan’s less known Saad Bin Zafar bagged the Man of the Match award in the title round with an all-round show (two wickets and 79 not out off 48 balls). Gayle was the skipper of the title-winning side.

“The aim of starting this league was to tap into the Asian market in Canada, who are crazy about the game of cricket. The focus was on the development of the Canadian boys although it was not mandatory to have a minimum number of Canadian players. The focus was on ‘Global’ and not ‘Canada’, although it’s great that Canada national team captain Nitish Kumar and Bin Zafar got to play in every game of the tournament, which shows the talent they possess,” Gurmeet Singh, president of Bombay Sports Pvt Ltd and owner of Global T20 Canada, was quoted as saying by CricketNext.

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