Photo Credit: Cricket Canada
Canada’s National Selectors have named internationally famous all-rounder Saad Bin Zafar as captain for the Canadian team’s participation in the Malaysia-hosted 2022 third and final round of the International Cricket Council’s World Cup Challenge League A tournament. Table leaders Canada will join Denmark, Singapore, Vanuatu, Qatar and hosts Malaysia at the December 1 – 16, 2022 tournament. The winner of which will progress to next year’s Zimbabwe hosted Qualifier to determine the final four remaining participating teams for the 2023 ICC 50 Overs World Cup.
The announced seventeen-member Canadian National Men’s Malaysia Tour squad is as follows:
Saad Bin Zafar (Captain), Navneet Dhaliwal, Nikhil Dutta, Dilon Heyliger, Aaron Johnson, Armaan Kapoor, Ammar Khalid, Nicholas Kirton, Akhil Kumar, Shreyas Movva, Salman Nazar, Kaleem Sana, Pargat Singh, Ravinderpaul Singh, Matthew Spoors, Harsh Thaker and Srimantha Wijeratne.
The squad was selected following the conclusion of the September 27 -30, 2022 Canadian National High-Performance Championships which were held at Ontario’s King City based Maple Leaf Cricket Club. Three teams representing Canada Select, President XI and U25s participated in the four-day round robin tournament.
The squad will be managed by Alphonso Franco. It will also be accompanied by a coaching staff consisting of recently appointed Canadian National Head Coach Pubudu Dassanayake with Abhishek Sharma as his Assistant.
Bin Zafar’s National team leadership appointment comes as result of the unavailability of former captain Navi Dhaliwal for the first half of the Canadian Malaysia engagement which will also include a November 10 -30 Pre -Tour to Oman. While in Oman the Canadian squad will be actively engaged in practice matches and training sessions as part of its preparations for the Malaysia ICC Challenge League Tournament.Zafar who made his Canadian debut in 2008, currently holds a world record for having completed his maximum quota of four overs in a T20I without having conceded a single run. He also holds the record for the 5th most maiden overs bowled in his T20I career.
Name of Author: Cricket Canada
Cricket Canada, established in 1892 and based in Toronto, governs cricket in Canada. It manages national men’s and women’s teams, youth teams, and grassroots programs. An ICC associate member since 1968, Cricket Canada represents the country in the ICC Americas region.
