Cricket Canada media release
The Cricket Canada selection committee has put their stamp on Canada’s World Cup team with the release today of the team that will tour South Asia in November 2010. The team has already assembled in Toronto for training camp and after
undergoing a rigorous fitness training program they will depart for a one month training stint in South Asia. Chairman of Selectors Christopher James, when speaking about the team selected emphasized fitness and fielding as key elements missing from previous world cup teams.
“There is no doubt that world cricket is moving in this direction and we are no different. We have thrown the challenge to our players to meet minimum fitness requirements as well as show us a commitment to their training in order to be on this team and they have responded”
Ashish Bagai has been confirmed as captain and has been given a diverse blend of youth and experience to lead onto the field.

Having been part of the set up for almost a decade now Bagai has seen ups and downs of this team and is very pleased with the direction the team and the high performance program is moving.

“We have supported our players and worked with them all summer to get to this point, they all need to be commended on their commitment thus far and we are all looking forward to continue our training and to get ready for the world cup”

Coach Pubudu Dassanayake will lead the coaching program in South Asia. The tour will also see Canada play 9 matches that will help flesh out the final 15 that will travel back to South Asia for the 2011 Cricket World Cup.

Dassanayake sees this as a unique opportunity for the players and a first for Canadian cricket.

“We have got all the players to a point where there is healthy competition for the World Cup team. The matches we will play will help us determine who will go forward to the World Cup. It is clear that Canada can now boast a comprehensive mix of home grown and overseas talent that will keep us competitive in February (at the world cup) and build a platform for the next several years”

Canadian Squad:
Ashish Bagai (C), Rizwan Cheema (VC)

Maninderjit (Manny) Aulakh, Akshay Bagai, Harvir Baidwan, Geoff Barnett,
Trevin Bastiampillai, , Umar Bhatti, Ian Bilcliff, John Davison, Parth
Desai, Khurram Chohan, Tyson Gordon, Ruvindu Gunasekera, , Amabhir (Jimmy)
Hansra, Nitish Kumar, Henry Osinde, Hiral Patel, Balaji Rao, Zubin Surkari,
Hamza Tariq, Karl Whatham