Warner and Smith to play in Global T20 Canada
Banned Australian senior duo of Steve Smith and David Warner have been drafted in the upcoming Global T20 Canada League. The league will be held in the North American country later this month. The duo were handed a 12-month ban by Cricket Australia after being involved in the ball-tampering scandal against South Africa in March, 2018. They are allowed to play domestic cricket though.
Southpaw Warner was selected in the third round of draft on Sunday by Winnipeg Hawks. Smith, on the other hand, was picked by Toronto Nationals in the 2nd round. Waqar Younis will be coaching the Winnipeg Hawks as Phil Simmons will be in charge of Smith's side. The two teams roped in several other marquee players as well.
Hawks roped in Dwayne Bravo and South African middle-order batsman David Miller. Nationals got the likes of West Indian stalwarts Darren Sammy and Kieron Pollard. Chris Gayle, Andre Russell, Evin Lewis and Tim Southee will join Vancouver Knights. Lasith Malinga, Sunil Narine and Thisara Perera will play for Montreal Tigers. Big guns Shahid Afridi and Chris Lynn will represent Edmonton Royals.
Simmons will be coaching Toronto Nationals as Moody and Waqar will be in charge of Montreal Tigers and Winnipeg Hawks respectively. Meanwhile, the other two coaches Mohammad Akram and Donovan Miller will guide Edmonton Royals and Vancouver Knights. The final team will be a representative side from West Indies. The league will commence from June 28 and end on July 15.
The tournament will consist of six teams. Five teams will represent Canadian cities and one will be from West Indies that will feature players from the Caribbean. This comes after the league tied up with Cricket West Indies to promote the sport. The five Canadian outfits are Edmonton Royals, Montreal Tigers, Toronto Nationals, Vancouver Knights and Winnipeg Hawks.
