GT20 Canada’s third season starts next month (July). The squads for all six participating teams were picked a few days back (June 15). Here’s how the Vancouver Knights’ squad is shaping up ahead of the tournament.
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The Player Draft for GT20 Canada 2023 was held on June 15 in Mumbai where the six participating teams picked their squads. The third edition of the Global T20 Canada league starts on July 20. The final fixtures are yet to be announced, however, the tournament has been given an 18-day window, with the Final supposed to be played on August 6.
Vancouver Knights are the most successful team in GT20 Canada history. They won the first edition in 2018 and finished as the runners-up in the previous edition in 2019 after the dramatic Final ended in a tie and they lost the super over to the Winnipeg Hawks.
The Knights had stalwarts like Chris Gayle, Andre Russell and Shoaib Malik playing for them in the previous edition of the tournament in 2019. While none of those players will be there this time around, they still have a more than decent squad.
Pakistan wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan and South Africa batter Rassie van der Dussen are the two marquee picks for the Knights this season. They will be backed by two more South Africans: Reeza Hendricks and Corbin Bosch and two players from Afghanistan: Najibullah Zadran and Naveen-ul-Haq.
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Among the Associate picks are UAE’s Junaid Siddique, Vritiya Aravind, and Karthik Meiyappan, and Namibia’s left-arm seamer Ruben Trumpelmann. The six Canadian picks include the 31-year-old right-hand batter Rayyan Pathan who holds the record for the joint-most consecutive fifty-plus scores in T20Is.
Englishman Donovan Miller will continue as the head coach of the Knights. He has had successful coaching stints in various T20 leagues around the globe, including with this very team itself in 2018 and will look to continue his successful association with the franchise this year as well.
GT20 Canada 2023: Vancouver Knights full squad list
Capped International players
Mohammad Rizwan, Rassie van der Dussen, Reeza Hendricks, Najibullah Zadran, Naveen-ul-Haq
Uncapped International player
Corbin Bosch
Associate players
Junaid Siddique, Vritiya Aravind, Karthik Meiyappan, Ruben Trumpelmann
Canadian players
Ravinderpal Singh, Harsh Thaker, Rayyan Pathan, Nawab Singh, Muhammad Kamal, Kanwar Tathgur
The Brampton Wolves and the Vancouver Knights squads are stacked with incredible talents after the GT20 Canada Season 3 Draft 😍#GameOn #GT20Canada #GT20Season3 #GT20CanadaDraft pic.twitter.com/gjRhoIWKVb
— GT20 Canada (@GT20Canada) June 13, 2023