Global T20 Canada: Players yet to receive contracts

Steve Smith and David Warner haven’t had the most auspicious times in the last few months. They were handed a suspension of one year each by Cricket Australia (CA) owing to their involvement in the shambolic ball-tampering scandal. Nevertheless, recently, they were drafted in to play the inaugural edition of the Global T20 Canada, which is scheduled to start from June 28.

While Smith was roped in by the Toronto Nationals, coached by Phil Simmons, Warner is slated to play for the Winnipeg Hawks. However, the hostage of the tournament has come under the clouds as there are no fixtures, no contracts and not even tickets as per reports in The Sydney Morning Herald. The staff are said to be working around 18-20 hours daily in order to get the event in place.

The heart of the story

The players’ agents have confirmed that the contracts haven’t been received despite the event director Jason Harper’s word to email the same to the all the 96 players in the next 12 to 24 hours. Some of them are yet to receive even flight details. Canada’s reputation as a nation was somewhat tainted in 2012 when few players involved in the All-Star matches complained that they weren’t reimbursed for flights.

Harper has ruled out any such possibility this time around. “CC is overseeing a lot of the payables for the competition. Everything has to go through their approvals – from contract negotiations to having money upfront for player salaries,” the tournament director mentioned.

“If we were going to a place that wasn’t a sports town, the logistics would be a lot more difficult but Toronto is a sports city. It will be difficult right up to the last moment but we’ll deliver it. You can bet your last dollar that it will be delivered,” he added.

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