Adding to the cricket craze that has taken over North America with the successful staging of the current Global T20 cricket showcase, the region is about to experience an incredible display of cricketing with the launch of the GT20 Canada 2024 edition in Brampton, Ontario, beginning July 25 and running through August 11.
The Canada Cricket League, which was founded with the goal of popularising cricket and creating a strong cricketing ecosystem in North America, provides local and international players with the ideal stage on which to showcase their abilities in an almost ideal environment for a top-tier cricket competition. Given Canada’s historic debut at the current ICC T20 World Cup and some outstanding performances from the country’s cricketing stars, GT20 Canada, which has made a name for itself on the cricketing calendars of Canada, North America, and the world, continues to offer a huge platform to showcase the sport’s growth.
Some of the biggest names in cricket from across the globe will be competing in the competition, together with the best local players from North America’s premier cricket scene.
The six-team franchise-based GT20 Canada 2024 edition will feature world-class cricketers David Warner and Marcus Stoinis of Australia, Babar Azam and Shaheen Afridi of Pakistan, Caribbean stars Sunil Narine and Carlos Brathwaite, Shakib Al Hasan of Bangladesh, and the Afghan duo of Mohammad Nabi and Naveen-ul-Haq, who are the faces of multiple cricketing success stories worldwide.
The GT20 Canada founder, Gurmeet Singh Bhamrah, underlined the significant contribution that league cricket has made to the growth of cricket in Canada and North America.
“The growth of the game in Canada is still greatly aided by the GT20 Canada. The development of the game in the area is significantly impacted when the greatest local players interact with prominent foreign players on a regular basis.
This edition of the GT20 Canada will feature the entire Canadian national team, including Aaron Johnson, who became the first player to score a half-century on the difficult New York pitch during the ICC T20 World Cup, and team captain Saad Bin Zafar, who leads the team in runs scored.
Andries Gous, who finished first in the World Cup in runs scored, and Harmeet Singh Baddhan, who played a key role in the United States’ remarkable ICC T20 World Cup campaign, have also joined North America’s top cricket league.
“The league was formed with the goal of unlocking the tremendous potential for cricketing growth in the region and by attracting global superstars and providing a platform for local talent,” said Joy Bhattacharya, CEO of GT20 Canada. With GT20 Canada 2024, cricket will be taken to a new level, players and fans will be motivated, and the sport will be solidly established as a key event in North American sports.
In order to create a formidable team of domestic and international cricket players, each of the six franchises has selected six players from ICC Full Member states and an additional four from Associate nations for their individual teams. In order to develop the sport in the area, it is imperative that every team roster include eight Canadian players in addition to this.
Afridi and West Indies all-rounder Romario Shepherd will support the Toronto Nationals, while Warner will lead the Brampton Wolves team. Along with his countrymen Mohammad Amir and Mohammad Rizwan, Pakistani captain Azam offers the Vancouver Knights a plethora of experience and sophistication.
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In the meantime, the Bangla Tigers Mississauga will be strengthened by the reliable all-around presence of Shakib, who will be joined by the Afghans Rahmanullah Gurbaz and Hazratullah Zazai. Stoinis and Narine will provide power and guile to the Surrey Jaguars. Along with T20 heavyweights like Chris Lynn and Sherfane Rutherford, Naveen, another rising star from Afghanistan, is headed to the Montreal Tigers, the 2023 Champions.