The Global T20 continues to get international news coverage.
Mykhel talked to Mercuri CEO Bhaktisaran Sriram:-
“It is going to be an exciting time for all of us involved in the Global T20. In fact, there is a big South Asian population in Canada – Indians, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Sri Lankans and Afghans etc – making it a big market for cricket. I would say, Canada is the biggest market for cricket outside of India because of that assembly of South Asian population. But unfortunately not much work at ground level has been done to tap the possibility of those population in terms of cricket….Canada do not have much infrastructure in place in terms of cricket. Our agreement with the Cricket Canada is for 25 years and as part of that we have agreed to build stadiums and other facilities in Canada in the long term. Right now, we are concentrating on strengthening the High Performance Centre and Regional Performance Centre.
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Telford Vice for Business Day contrasts the Canadian project with South Africa’s attempts:-
“South Africans must be galled at the thought that a bunch of Canadians helped by CWI‚ which is anything but an efficient‚ well-run organisation‚ seem set to pull off what Cricket SA have so far failed to do.
Cricket SA are reportedly close to deciding whether to proceed with their plan to stage what can surely no longer be called the T20GL.
They seem damned if they do and damned if they don’t.”
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CricBuzz focus on the angle of a major tournament being played in an ICC Associate:-
“By some distance the most remarkable story of course is the remarkable stable amassed by Cricket Canada for the inaugural season of their T20 tournament, the Global T20, which was announced earlier this year.
Though the player draft was repeatedly postponed, it’s fair to say the result was well worth the wait. Sunday’s draft featured a sizable constellation of stars, including the majority of the West Indies side, together with household names such as Lasith Malinga, Shahid Afridi, Chris Lynn and David Miller as Marquee players. The tournament also promises a return to action for Australia’s Steve Smith and David Warner, who are currently serving a ban from international cricket following the “sandpaper incident”.
If all goes as planned, the competition promises to be the most high-profile tournament ever staged by an Associate board, eclipsing even the remarkable success of the Hong Kong Blitz. It’s worth remembering though that despite its success, the Blitz has yet to turn a profit.”
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