Tournament director of GT20 Jason Harper addresses goals for cricket in Canada ahead of GT20 Tournament

BY KAYLA KARIM

International cricket’s top players made their way north to Toronto, Canada as the Global T20 tournament began last week. Fans in the GTA will be able to attend the second annual GT20 tournament that will be held at the CAA Sports Centre in Brampton. Players from over 40 countries will play more than 22 matches over the course of a couple of weeks, including players from Toronto.

Jason Harper, Global T20 Canada’s director believes that there is an opportunity for growth. In an interview with Firstpost, Harper said that there is a “robust club system and the game is being played in school. The clubs are growing day-by-day and there are over 15,000 registered cricketers. So, as I said, there is an opportunity for growth in the existing framework and by adding Global T20, it should help grow interest in the game more in Canada.”

Harper spoke in 2018 about the importance of the event for Canadian players mentioning that there were 600 Canadian players who had registered in the draft. He highlighted the opportunity that the players will get especially if they are able to perform well, the tournament will be a “huge stepping-stone” for them to get a CPL contract.

Harper is one of many that are bringing international competitions and more importantly, awareness to the sport in Canada by telling inspiring stories about players and the game itself. He believes that these stories can create a bond between players from national teams, pre-national teams and junior level teams who then will be able to participate in a league that will generate interest from other players and fans. He hopes to help cricket-loving fans in Canada to not only enjoy the sport but also to have the chance to witness international stars play in person. He also mentioned that from the Cricket Canada perspective, he and his team would like to help develop players and national team programs that will then hopefully lead to competitions in ICC ODI and the World Cup 2022.

This year, Jason Harper believes that with the GT20 being held in Brampton, Ontario, there will be a lot of fans coming out to support the tournament, as it is a region with several immigrants. He said to CBC News “I think the demographics [of Brampton] speak to the game. Many people in Brampton have migrated to Canada, but they’ve interacted with the game of cricket outside of Canada, so there’s a natural market here”

Canada’s first major T20 cricket tournament that kicked off on Thursday has already seen attendances of up to 4,000 people, and will continue until August 11^th , 2019.