Canada have announced their squad for the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 and have named a new young captain in Dilpreet Bajwa to lead them in their second T20 World Cup appearance. One of the former IPL campaigners has also been picked for the marquee tournament in India.
Canada will be playing the second T20 World Cup in their history after having played the previous edition in 2024. They made it through to this edition as well after winning the Americas Regional Final, where they remained unbeaten throughout the 6-match streak.
Canada have been placed in the same group alongside the likes of South Africa, New Zealand, Afghanistan, and the UAE. They will kickstart their campaign against South Africa on the 9th of February at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad.
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Canada names Dilpreet Bajwa as the new captain for the ICC T20 World Cup 2026
Dilpreet Bajwa, the 22-year-old youngster, has been named the captain of the Canada squad for their second consecutive entry into the ICC T20 World Cup. The youngster has played 9 ODI matches and 17 T20I matches for Canada.
With four half-centuries, he has nearly 400 runs for Canada and has impressed with the bat in the shortest format of the game. In the T10 competition in Canada, he played some blistering knocks of 57 off 18 balls and 68* off 22 balls.
Other than him, young opening batter Yuvraj Samra would be a crucial campaigner with an impressive strike rate. They then have the likes of former skipper Saad Bin Zafar alongside Kaleem Sana, Dilon Heyliger, Nicholas Kirton, and Navneet Dhaliwal, who are among other big names in the squad.
Team Canada looks like a combined India-Pakistan team
Canada revealed the squad for the upcoming clash in the ICC T20 World Cup 2026, which will be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka. They have been placed in the same group as several giants of the game and will mostly play their games in India.
Several players have struggled with visa issues due to their country of origin and passport being Pakistani. The Canadian team looks like a second team formed by combining Indian and Pakistani players. The former captain, Saad Bin Zafar – a Pakistani – is one example for sure, while the new skipper, Dilpreet Bajwa, has parents of Indian origin.
Canada T20 World Cup squad: Dilpreet Bajwa (capt), Ajayveer Hundal, Ansh Patel, Dilon Heyliger, Harsh Thaker, Nicholas Kirton, Ravinderpal Singh, Saad Bin Zafar, Jaskarandeep Buttar, Kaleem Sana, Kanwarpal Tathgur, Navneet Dhaliwal, Shivam Sharma, Shreyas Movva, and Yuvraj Samra.
Former PBKS player picked by Canada for T20 World Cup in India
Ansh Patel, one of the spinners picked by Canada for the upcoming World Cup, has some experience in India, as he was once part of the IPL with the Punjab Kings, a franchise that picked him back in 2022, though he did not feature in any game for them.
The spinner, born in 2002 in Vadodara, Gujarat, bowls left-arm spin and has also played under-19 cricket for Baroda before moving to Canada and featuring in internationals. He has represented Canada in 5 T20I games and has managed to pick 5 wickets with the best figures of 2/7.
This will be a World Cup debut for the 23-year-old wrist spinner and also a homecoming for the youngster.
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