Is professional cricket in the stars for Canada? Toronto’s Roy Singh thinks so. The businessman behind gold exploration company CINRO and the Chairman of the Canadian Premier League T20 envisions a league with international-courted cricket stars as well as local talent. Interest has already been expressed by well-known international players such as Chris Gayle.
Traditional matches can last for indefinite periods of time but the Canadian league would feature 2 ½ hour games and hopefully be played at the Rogers Centre. In fact, Singh hopes to arrange a tournament there next summer that would last 7 weeks. Singh has proposed funding the league via corporate ownership. Canadian businesses would own and run their own teams, representing different Canadian cities. Companies would also contribute to a trust to finance the league’s commencement, including the $2-4 million it would cost to convert the field at the Rogers Centre into a cricket pitch. At the same time, Singh has also hired Toronto real estate firm Top Choice Realty Inc. to locate land for a new “World Class T20 Cricket Stadium.”
[via Toronto Star and cplt20.ca]
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Eva Voinigescu is an intern at Toronto Standard. Follow her on Twitter @EvaVoinigescu.
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