Ashit Patel of Mercuri Groups gives his opening remarks with Gurmeet Singh and Soni on his left.

TORONTO –  The day has finally arrived for cricket fans in North America to witness live cricket tournament of international level happening right in their backyard.

The Global T20 League was launched in style on June 26, 2018 starting with six franchises consisting of elite international players and local talents. 

Some of the top-notch names in international cricket like Steve Smith, David Warner, Andre Russell, Sunil Narine, Chris Gayle, Dwanye Smith,  Darren Sammy, Kieron Pollard and others came to the launch party at Celebration Square, Mississauga as organizers thanked them for charting in a completely new territory.

The organizers behind this first-of-its-kind league cricket in North America are Ashit Patel and Gurmeet Singh of Mercuri Group. 

At a rough count, this is the fifth attempt to launch a North American T20 league in the past 12 years or so. But this time it eventually became a reality due to Ashit Patel of Mercuri Group. Mr Patel  worked tirelessly on this project for the last eight months.

Mercuri is known for building brand capabilities, negotiating several sponsorships from some of the best sporting properties besides cricket. It has extensive experience and expertise in sports infrastructure, talent management, sponsorship acquisition, branding and sports education – having collaborated with many corporate entities, brands and government agencies.

On a beautiful summer evening emcee Julia Cosby introduced Ashit Patel to over 300 guests consisting of members of parliament, entrepreneurs, who’s who of the community, the cricketing fraternity and the local cricket players who mingled with international players and world-class coaches Tom Moody, Md Akram and Waqar Younis.

“My heart is beating very fast right now because of some of my heroes are right in front of me,” said Ashit Patel in his opening remarks as he thanked the players, coaches and support staff for making this far.

“People keep asking me why Canada and I tell them there is a lot of talent here. This is one country where not only cricketers from all parts of the world will play, but also the spectators from all parts of the world will watch them,” he said, adding this is about North America and there is a chance to develop cricket here.

“We have a clear vision, mission, goal and desire to take Canada back to World Cup in 2023,” he said, followed by a resounding applause.

Canada has played World Cup in 1979, 2003, 2007 and 2011. 

“Cricket has huge potential here, it will go grassroots and within five years it can become a mainstream sport,” Mr Patel said – asking for continuous support from the community, public servants, politicians and cricketers.

He thanked Mr Ranjit Saini, President of Cricket Canada, who has been a great help and support to keep this tournament going.

Mr Saini acknowledged his predecessors for building the brand of cricket in Canada. “I had very little to do with this,” he said humbly, “We moved it just 2 inches up.” He said the objective is to change Canada into a cricketing nation. It will eventually produce great talents  and opportunity, hoping an event in Olympics can be not too far. He hoped cricket will get its status back as national sport in Canada.

“In the memory of Sir John A Macdonald, our first prime minister who declared cricket a national game, I invite everyone to participate to make cricket a national sport,” he summed up.

Darren Sammy of Toronto Nationals, Chris Gayle of Vancouver Knights, coach Tom Moody from Montreal Tigers, coach Mohammed Akram of Edmonton Royals, coach Waqar Younis of Winnipeg Hawks and allrounder Samar Springer of Cricket West Indies Representative Team engaged in a playful verbal encounter on the podium.

Sammy said he is super excited standing next to “Universal Boss” Chris Gayle whom he will be playing against on Thursday. 

Gayle said he is good to back in Canada where he made his international debut. 

Mohammed Akram reminded fans about grounds full to capacity during Sahara Cup in 1997 and hoped the same for this tournament. 

“From a coach’s perspective, it is great to be out here in Canada before a lot of talent for a good tussle, “ said coach Tom Moody.

Coach Waqar Younis said, “It will be a great opportunity from young Canadian cricketers…I can’t wait, it will be a blast.”

Allrounder Samar Springer said it will an opportunity of West Indies Representive Team to showcase their talent and be competitive.

A beautiful 2018 trophy was unveiled with tournament theme music playing in the background.

Local vocalist Genesis Cruz kept the guests entertained with a fiery Alicia Keys number “This girl is on fire.”