Devastated from the sand-paper tampering, former Australian captain Steve Smith and former Australian vice captain David Warner will finally make a comeback to the cricket field as they are confirmed to participate in the inaugural Global T20 Canada league this summer.
Cricket Australia allowed both the senior cricketers to play domestic cricket outside Australia.
A total of 22 matches will be played in the league with Maple Leaf Cricket Club, a cricket-specific facility just north of Toronto to host the matches. The stadium has a seating capacity of 7,000 peoples.
Star Studded affair
Some of the biggest named like Dwayne Bravo, Lasith Malinga, Chris Lynn, Darren Sammy, David Miller and Sunil Narine were named as marquee players in the tournament. West Indian cricketer Chris Gayle and Shahid Afridi of Pakistan will also feature in the league.
The Global T20 Canada league consists of five Canadian teams and a Cricket West Indies representative team. The six teams in the competition are the Caribbean All-Stars, Toronto Nationals, Montreal Tigers, Ottawa Royals, Vancouver Knights and Winnipeg Hawks.
“I would like to wish Global T20 Canada much success. The growth of our region will largely depend on the success of leagues and tournaments like this,” said West Indies Cricket Board President Dave Cameron.
“We support Cricket Canada and look forward to working even closer going forward, so congratulations and all the best to Cricket Canada and Mercuri Group.”
The tournament will starts on 28 June and concludes on July 16.
“Global T20 Canada marks the first time a nation with associate member status is launching a league a major step forward in cricket’s global development,” said Ranjit Saini, President, Cricket Canada.
“Canadian cricket fans will have a great opportunity to see up close many of the world’s greatest players, and I’d like to thank International Cricket Council, CWI and the international cricket community for their guidance and support in growing cricket in Canada.
