Nitish Kumar in Canadian colours

One of Cricket Canada’s objectives in promoting the Global T20 is the development of Canadian cricketers. The various franchises initially were required to have at least two Canadian qualified players in their squads, and further Canadians were added to the squads at a later date. The plan is to progressively increase Canadian content in future years.
The Canadians are in the squads, but how much cricket are they actually seeing? It is of course a benefit to be part of these teams and around world-class cricketers and coaches, even if playing time is minimal, and getting paid your your time is important for those struggling to balance making a living and playing cricket for Canada.
There are perhaps two main objectives for Canadians in the league. For the less established players it might be to improve their cricket, and secure a place in the national team, as well as perhaps help the Canadian team improve its performance internationally. For established players the tournament could potentially act as a showcase for their talents, and possibly secure contracts in the many other franchise based T20 competitions springing up across the cricketing world.
A quick perusal of the squads show that 29 Canadian qualified players are attached to teams in the league. Of those 29, at the time of writing, 17 have not made an appearance. This includes prominent national team players Ruvindu Gunasekera, Hamza Tariq, Rizwan Cheema, Salman Nazar, Bhavindhu Adhihetty and Srimantha Wijeratne. Others have played but have made no more than a token appearance- Abraash Khan didn’t bowl or bat in his one appearance; Pervez, Dhindsa, Gordon, and Dhaliwal have bowled a combined 9.2 overs, and Nick Kirton made 3 in his one innings.
The two players who have been given a serious oportunity both play for the Toronto squad, Canadian captain Nitish Kumar and Nikhil Dutta. Dutta has already had opportunities with the Carribean Premier League, and his unconvential spin has been used in four matches. He’s had some success, bowling 11.1 overs, taking 3 wickets (including Chris Gayle) but conceding 107 runs. Nitish Kumar has had five innings and made two significant scores, top-scoring with 55 in a loss to the Edmonton Royals, and making a match winning 46 against Montreal – whose attack featured Siddle, Malinga and Narine. In today’s match, however he was caught and bowled first ball by his fellow Canadian Saad bin Zafar.
Both Kumar and Dutta are mainstays of the Canadian team. If their efforts to attract interest from global frnachises elsewhere, they have an opportunity to actually make a living from cricket – and that has not been possible for Canadians in the past. It might be at the expense of the national team, however, if paid committments clash with with qualifying tournaments for Canada.
Others who have had some opportunity include Dillon Heyliger, Junaid Siddiqui (who took three wickets in a Winnipeg win) and Saad bin Zafar – we look forward to seeing more of them, and other Canadians as the tournament wraps up.