Global T20 Canada tournament set to take place in June

Due to the rip-roaring success of franchise-based Twenty20 leagues in the world of cricket, Canada is all set to join in on the craze, with ‘Global T20 Canada’ set to take place between June 28 and July 15 this year.

The league will see six franchises participate and is being organized by Cricket Canada in collaboration with the Chennai-based Mercuri Group.

“Each team will play six games in the league phase: an initial round-robin followed by a single-match second round in which the teams will play one other opponent. The top four teams after the league phase advance to the playoffs beginning on July 12,” a report by ESPNCricinfo stated.

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Similar to the IPL’s knockout stages, the top two teams in the league stages will contest the first play-off, the winner of which will proceed to the final.

The losing side will then play the winner of the second play-off between the third and fourth placed side, with the winner of this encounter also making the final.

According to the schedule released this week all games are to be held 25 miles north of downtown Toronto in King City at the Maple Leaf Cricket Club.

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The tournament is set to have formal draft system to fill up the six teams - Caribbean All-Stars, Toronto Nationals, Montreal Tigers, Ottawa Royals, Vancouver Knights and Winnipeg Hawks.

Only four Canadian players will be required to be drafted into every squad, with no mandate on their inclusion in the starting eleven. There is also no indication as to whether any foreign players will make the player draft pool.