Canada’s league gets ICC nod

Global T20 Canada league was announced here on Thursday following an approval from world cricket's governing body, the ICC.

The league is set to take off from July this year at three venues in Toronto, marking cricket's homecoming in a big way. According to a media release, the league is conceptualised, designed, developed and managed by Mercuri Group with Cricket Canada, the official governing body for the sport in the country.

With ICC's sanction of approval, Cricket Canada became the first Associate member of the ICC to set in motion a Twenty20 franchise league in the lucrative North America market.

Canada Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, in the final leg of his official Indian trip, participated in a promotional cricket event at a school in the Indian capital on Thursday. Trudeau signed a bat wishing the Global T20 Canada all the luck on the sidelines of his visit to the school.

The media release further stated that Cricket Canada has entered into a 25-year Master Licensing Agreement with Mercuri Talent Management Pvt Ltd. This agreement covers not just the Global T20 Canada, but also investment in developing the grassroots for the sport in the country.

Cricket Canada president Ranjit Saini said: "Twenty20 Major League Cricket has the potential to change Canadian cricket forever.”