CHENNAI: While Yuvraj Samra is bound to hog the limelight after being the first centurion from Canada in the T20 World Cup (also the youngest at this level), his innings could carry huge significance when it comes to the growth of the sport in the country.
Canada is known for ice hockey. Their men's team are ranked on top in the International Ice Hockey Federation’s rankings (IIHF), while the women's team are ranked second in the world. However, cricket is still at its nascent stages in Canada, a country that featured in one of the first cricket matches in the late 18th century. The biggest stumbling block when it comes to cricket is the weather. Tuesday's centurion Yuvraj explained the difficulties in training there. "In Canada, it's not that easy, because we only get three months to play. And it's, like, minus 25, (to) minus 30 (degree Celsius) weather, so it's really hard. We try to visit other countries, like Sri Lanka. The countries have good weather. It's really hard playing cricket there (Canada). But I feel like we have good management. They back us. They take us on pre-tours. And I feel like we get good preparation there," he told reporters after Canada's eight-wicket loss against New Zealand on Tuesday.
Yuvraj, who was born and brought up in Brampton, felt that this ton could be a game-changer. "I feel like this innings could change my life. I can actually make a good living out of this sport, especially being from Canada and I feel like it can be a real dream come true," he added.
Yuvraj grew up playing for the Patiala Shahi Cricket club in Brampton. It is clubs like these that provide them a platform to enter the national team, despite difficulties with infrastructure and weather conditions.
Jimmy Sharma, the founder of the club, felt that cricket in Canada needs structural changes and big infrastructural growth. "What we do is to polish more players to give more opportunities. We will take them all across Canada during the summer from May till October. We will also produce some opportunities for them, like for example Punjab in India," he told this daily.
Conditions hamper their preparation, according to Sharma. According to official records, the last game Canada played before this edition of the World Cup was on September 2 against Namibia in King City, Canada. "Our Canadian cricket season is till the first week of October. From the second week of October onwards, they start closing down the parks, cricket grounds and recreational parks. So fast forward, we were planning some pre(tournament)-tours in December. But at that time, we are also limited with funding," he said, adding that cricket Canada has a commercial sponsor partner named Boundaries North, who helps them bring sponsors.
Although structural changes across levels in the country have been introduced, Sharma feels that the introduction of franchise systems in the grassroots could have a big impact. "In the US, we have Minor League Cricket, mirroring franchise cricket in the grassroots. But in Canada, we don't even have a consistent franchise league (Global T20 league). Like we had it in 2018 2019 and COVID happened, (it returned in) 2023 2024 but then it didn't take place last year," he said. Reportedly, Cricket Canada had terminated the contract with the organisers late in 2024, and the new organisers did not find time to organise the league within the summer window of 2025.
Sharma compares Yuvraj's knock — in terms of the potential impact — to that of Brendon McCullum’s historic century in the first-ever match of the IPL in 2008. "I would say with Yuvraj scoring 100 in a World Cup, that is going to make a huge difference in North American cricket, not just Canada. The youngsters, you know, who are taking cricket part-time, you know, who are just casually playing, you know, even their parents are going to be serious, like, if you, we can do it," he said.
Yuvraj's century may herald a new era of cricket in Canada. From having to train abroad and face difficulties which are out of their control, knocks like these could strengthen their case for better means to grow. The fabled sport, which was once a national sport in 1844 in the country, may well return to the fore, if changes are implemented.
