Canada and the U.S. will meet June 1 at the Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium in Dallas to kick off the ICC (International Cricket Council) Men’s T20 World Cup.
The West Indies, which is co-hosting the 55-game tournament with the U.S., opens June 2 against Papua New Guinea at the Guyana National Stadium.
Canada will then meet Ireland on June 7 and Pakistan on June 11, with both matches in suburban New York, before wrapping up Group A play versus India on June 15 in Lauderhill, Fla.
“The ICC has given us a great opportunity—playing the U.S. in the World Cup opener,” Canadian men’s national team head coach Pubudu Dassanayake told CBC Sports. “[It’s] going to be a game changer for Canada. I think it’s a great opportunity for Canada to showcase to the world what we have.”
Dassanayake, who returned for a second stint as Canada men’s cricket coach in July 2022 after holding the position from 2007-2011, coached the United States from 2016 to 2019.
“I’m very emotional to see that both these countries are playing each other in a World Cup opener,” said Dassanayake, the former Sri Lankan international, who also represented Canada as a player after emigrating to the country.
“North American cricket will have the attention of the world and I’m so happy for that.”
Led by captain Saad Bin Zafar, the Canadian men qualified for their first T20 World Cup in October, defeating Bermuda by 39 runs to win the four-team ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Americas Region Final. Canada and Bermuda both concluded with 4-1-0 records with one no-result. But Canada, which lost to Bermuda by 86 runs in its opening match, won the tournament by a superior net run rate (3.98 to 2.41).
The Canadians failed to qualify for the eight previous editions of the T20 World Cup, which has expanded to 20 teams in 2024 and will be the first ICC World Cup event to feature matches in the U.S.
“That’s what we play cricket for,” Zafar told CBC Sports. “We want to play against the best in the world and we’re getting that opportunity now in the World Cup. “Canada has never played India before, ever. I’m super thrilled and looking forward to this amazing—beautiful journey.”
Group C consists of New Zealand, the West Indies, Afghanistan, Uganda and Papua New Guinea while Group D is South Africa, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, the Netherlands and Nepal.
The top two teams in each group move on to the Super Eights, to be played in Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
The two top teams from each pool in the Super Eight then move on to the semifinals in Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago on June 26 and 27 June, respectively. The final will be held June 29 at the Kensington Oval in Barbados.
