KABUL (SW): In exclusive conversation with Salam Watandar, middle-order batsman Najibullah Zadran has expressed surprise and joy over selection in Canada’s Global T20 league.
The Global T20 Canada is an upcoming Twenty20 (T20) cricket tournament planned to be held in Canada. The International Cricket Council (ICC) sanctioned the tournament in February 2018, and it will be the first franchise-based T20 league in North America.
Zadran informed his team-mate Aftab Alam shared the news with him after the first T20 match against Bangladesh in India on Sunday. The elegant striker has been picked by Montreal Tigers. “I got very happy to be the only Afghan selected among a number of international players in this league”.
The inaugural month-long competition will feature six teams, with the five Canadian sides joined by a Cricket West Indies representative team, consisting entirely of players from the Caribbean.
The league will see 22 matches played in a round-robin format that culminates in playoffs and with the championship match to be held on 15 July.
All contests will take place at Maple Leaf Cricket Club in Toronto. According to reports, the ground has a capacity of 7,000 seats.
Here are the full squads of the five teams – the sixth and the final team, a representative side from the Caribbean – yet to be announced.
Edmonton Royals
Coach: Mohammad Akram
Shahid Afridi, Chris Lynn, Luke Ronchi, Mohammad Irfan, Sohail Tanvir, Christiaan Jonker, Wayne Parnell, Asif Ali, Hasan Khan, Agha Salman, Shaiman Anwar, Ammar Khalid, Satsimranjit Dhindsa, Ahmed Raza, Simon Pervez, Abraash Khan.
Montreal Tigers
Coach: Tom Moody
Lasith Malinga, Sunil Narine, Thisara Perera, Mohammad Hafeez, Denesh Ramdin, Sandeep Lamichhane, Sikandar Raza, Dasun Shanaka, Isuru Udana, George Worker, Najibullah Zadran, Cecil Pervez, Ibrahim Khaleel, Dillon Heyliger, Nicholas Kirton, Rayyan Pathan.
Toronto Nationals
Coach: Phil Simmons
Darren Sammy, Steve Smith, Kieron Pollard, Kamran Akmal, Hussain Talat, Rumman Raees, Nikhil Dutta, Johnson Charles, Kesrick Williams, Naved Ahmed, Nizakat Khan, Farhan Malik, Nitish Kumar, Usama Mir, Rohan Mustafa, Mohammad Umair Ghani.
Vancouver Knights
Coach: Donovan Miller
Chris Gayle, Andre Russell, Evin Lewis, Tim Southee, Chadwick Walton, Fawad Ahmed, Babar Hayat, Sheldon Cottrell, Saad Bin Zafar, Ruvindu Gunasekera, Srimantha Wijeratne, Kamau Leverock, Steven Jacobs, Salman Nazar, Rassie van der Dussen, Jeremy Gordon.
Winnipeg Hawks
Coach: Waqar Younis
Dwayne Bravo, David Miller, David Warner, Lendl Simmons, Darren Bravo, Fidel Edwards, Rayad Emrit, Ben McDermott, Ali Khan, Hamza Tariq, Junaid Siddiqui, Tion Webster, Rizwan Cheema, Hiral Patel, Mark Deyal, Kyle Phillip.
ENDS
