Canada has retained ten players from their previous T20 World Cup squad.
For the upcoming T20 World Cup, Canada has placed its trust in the experienced core, keeping ten members from last season’s team in the 15-player squad.
The tournament will be held in India and Sri Lanka, and Canada’s squad has only five changes compared to their debut World Cup team.
Canada made its World Cup debut in the 2024 T20 World Cup, surprising everyone by defeating Ireland in the group stage. They finished fourth in their five-team group.
Dilpreet Bajwa, who played two matches in that tournament, will captain Canada this time. Saad Bin Zafar, who led the team in 2024, is also included in the squad.
Aaron Johnson, Jeremy Gordon, Junaid Siddiqui, Pargat Singh, and Ryan Khan Pathan have been left out of this year’s squad.
So far, Bajwa has played nine ODIs and 17 T20Is for Canada. He has scored 108 runs in ODIs, and in T20Is, he has four fifties with 397 runs at a strike rate of 133.22.
In October last year, Bajwa, then just 23, scored 57 off 18 balls and an unbeaten 68 off 22 balls in Canada’s T10 league matches.
Canada’s destructive opener, Yuvraj Samra, who was not in the previous World Cup squad, will now carry the responsibility of starting the innings.
Samra has played 16 T20Is for Canada, hitting 27 sixes. He has three fifties, scoring 442 runs at a strike rate of 160.72.
Off-spinner Shivam Sharma impressed in the qualifying stage to secure his World Cup spot. Left-arm pacer Kamil Sana also delivered strong performances in the qualifiers. Canada will expect solid contributions from both in the main tournament.
Canada qualified for the World Cup for the second consecutive time by going unbeaten in the Americas qualifier. Their main campaign begins on February 9 against South Africa. In Group D, their other opponents are New Zealand, Afghanistan, and the United Arab Emirates.
Canada T20 World Cup squad
Dilpreet Bajwa (c), Ajayvir Hundal, Ansh Patel, Dillon Helligar, Harsh Thakar, Jaskarandeep Buttar, Kamil Sana, Kanwarpal Tathgur, Navnit Dhaliwal, Nicholas Carton, Ravinderpal Singh, Saad Bin Zafar, Shivam Sharma, Shreyas Mova, Yuvraj Samra.
