Senior Men’s Team set for tour of Hong Kong

From the lens of an athlete limited to indoor training for an outdoor sport at the international level, it’s a major challenge to keep up with the competition that’s working on their craft in warmer climates during this time.

The senior Canada men’s cricket team hasn’t played outdoors since clinching a place in the 2024 men’s T20 World Cup back in early October. The team has been training at the Yashi Sports facility in North York for the past few months, and while they’ve made the most of practicing batting, bowling, and fielding within the confines of this terrific indoor facility, the relief and excitement was palpable ahead of flying out for a tour of Hong Kong where the weather is currently hovering around 20 degrees celsius.

“Looking forward to actually going out and playing cricket, indoors in this weather you can only do so much,” captain Saad Bin Zafar said. “The important thing for us before entering into the ODI circuit is to play as many games as a team as we can. The tours are very important, both in Hong Kong and Nepal. The boys are positive and itching to go out there.”

There’s plenty of excitement building in anticipation of Canada’s first-ever appearance at a men’s T20 World Cup later this June, but the team also has to juggle its attempt to qualify for the ODI World Cup for the first time since 2011. It was a great effort to regain ODI status last year and join the ICC Cricket World Cup League 2. Now, the journey begins in earnest to be a part of the 2027 edition.

Canada will play a 50-over tri-series in Hong Kong that will include Malaysia beginning Jan. 31, after which the team will travel to Nepal and then the U.A.E. A 19-man touring squad for Hong Kong was named on Jan. 5. As mentioned previously, Bin Zafar will lead the side accompanied by veterans including but not limited to Jeremy Gordon and Navneet Dhaliwal. With a healthy dose of experience, youngsters who have impressed at the Under-19 level like Yuvraj Samra and Ajayveer Hundal have also been selected to get a taste of senior international cricket.

Canada senior men’s squad for tour of Hong Kong:

Aaron Johnson, Navneet Dhaliwal, Pargat Singh, Nicholas Kirton, Yuvraj Samra, Ajayveer Hundal, Udaybir Walia, Saad Bin Zafar ©, Harsh Thaker, Uday Bhagwan, Srimantha Wijeyeratne, Shreyas Movva, Nikhil Dutta, Dilpreet Singh, Shahid Ahmadzai, Jeremy Gordon, Dillon Heyliger, Sahib Malhotra, Ishwarjot Sohi.

“We all know our average age in this team is around 34-35, but they’re still good and still fit,” head coach Pubudu Dassanayake said. “We work very hard on our fitness so I think we can survive this three-year period with some of these players and then at the same time we want to create a setup where young players come through. There’s no shortage of talent in Canada, it’s just about experience and knowing how to handle different situations. We want to have youngsters given a chance to mix with senior players and learn from them.

“They earn their place when you take this path.”

Understanding that a bridge exists between the junior and senior level is a big part of the message Dassanayake wants to send on this tour, that these players are being paid serious attention to and that if the performances are there, opportunities will follow. As the saying attributed to Manchester United’s legendary late coach Sir Matt Busby goes, “If you’re good enough, you’re old enough.”

Upcoming schedule (all matches start at 8pm EST day before):

Jan. 31 – Hong Kong vs. Malaysia

Feb 1 – Malaysia vs. Canada

Feb. 2 – Rest day

Feb. 3 – Hong Kong vs. Canada

Feb. 4 – Final

Feb. 5 – 3rd place vs. Hong Kong A

The degree of difficulty increases as the matches and tours progress leading into June, making for what should at least theoretically be an easier transitional opportunity for the younger players. The veterans on the team have relished the opportunity to welcome the younger players into the squad and are eager to see them perform while also reminding them of the importance of staying level-headed.

“These tours [against lower-ranked sides], you tend to take them a bit lightly sometimes but it’s very important to hit the ground running,” opening batter Aaron Johnson said. “Getting out there, fighting for a final is very important. Over the next six months, that type of environment is very important to us.”