Can cricket overtake baseball or ice hockey in Canada?

[Fozz]

Apparently cricket is the fastest growing sport in Canada, but I'm not sure how popular baseball is in that country.

 

[adnans0324]

Number 1 in canada is ice hockey dude.....but the population of south asians in canada is increasing pretty quickly, so maybe one day cricket can be up there too. the main problem here in the states is that
1) team is no good
2)the only way to watch cricket is thru 15$ a month willow cricket or illegal internet streams.

now i read that espn3 is gonna have a lot of coverage of icc events in the next few years (i forgot the source) but getting cricket on tv will do wonders. it worked for poker....

 

[GOAT]

lol I doubt it. Games like this raise the popularity but only briefly, crickets a bit too complicated at times for people to get into it. Different formats especially throw people off.

Plus with the Blue Jays hitting some form last season and the MLB supposedly opening up more spots for... whatever they have spots for, I doubt it.

 

[iHammad]

The Youth here in Canada doesn't like Cricket because their under the impression that it's a "waste of time" type sport, only played by brown people in India. They say baseball, is better, and harder to play.

 

[Dragon]

Not with such a terrible cricket. Ireland is the only minor team that can be a good ODI team in the future.

 

[Looney]

Not happening in our lifetime , people think there are too many rules in cricket .

 

[kkmix]

Inshallah, one day.

 

[iHammad]

People here don't even know how professional works, and what it looks like. They just think you have to throw and tennis ball, wack it as hard as you can with the bat, and run back and forth.

 

[Robert]

Apparently cricket is the fastest growing sport in Canada, but I'm not sure how popular baseball is in that country.

Two MLB teams, one of which won their World Series a couple of times, and the 'farm team' AAA and AA system that feeds it. Baseball is big biz and deeply entrenched.

 

[rambo123]

Two MLB teams, one of which won their World Series a couple of times, and the 'farm team' AAA and AA system that feeds it. Baseball is big biz and deeply entrenched.

Alrite and when will Cricket become the Number 1 sport in England?

 

[ddss]

Lets hope so, it could be through T20

 

[farz88]

well another problem is weather. its cold most of the time so you can only really play indoors during winter.

 

[Fozz]

well another problem is weather. its cold most of the time so you can only really play indoors during winter.

Cricket can only be played in the warmer months in Canada, and the same is generally true for England.

 

[kkmix]

well another problem is weather. its cold most of the time so you can only really play indoors during winter.

I don't think that's the reason because Baseball can't be played outside in winter too but they still play it.

 

[mooz]

Two MLB teams, one of which won their World Series a couple of times, and the 'farm team' AAA and AA system that feeds it. Baseball is big biz and deeply entrenched.

Two teams??

 

[kkmix]

One way it can get recognition is by training the players to compete in the international level, followed by international games in Canada every summer. This could be achieved by sending 2 or 3 players from top teams to weaker teams who don't get chance to play for their teams. They can coach the Canadians as well as play alongside them to make sure they are competitive.

 

[rambo123]

Unless the Ethnic canadians start to play cricket , the game will never ever make it big in the country . Asians playing cricket in canada will not help . Does anyone know if the ethnic canadians who mostly like Ice Hockey play any sort of cricket?

 

[farz88]

I don't think that's the reason because Baseball can't be played outside in winter too but they still play it.

yeah but baseball is already in the culture. Its much harder to non asain people interested in cricket now.

 

[Robert]

Two teams??

Toronto Blue Jays and Montreal Expos as I recall.

 

[kkmix]

Unless the Ethnic canadians start to play cricket , the game will never ever make it big in the country . Asians playing cricket in canada will not help . Does anyone know if the ethnic canadians who mostly like Ice Hockey play any sort of cricket?

lol nope, not even close, they are too much into their hockey and football (rugby). Cricket isn't even in the list.

 

[rambo123]

lol nope, not even close, they are too much into their hockey and football (rugby). Cricket isn't even in the list.

Then its impossible to ever have a strong domestic structure in Canada for Cricket . Finding a team of 11 players of ethnic origin has to be the first step taken to achieve the success in development of a sport .

 

[Big Harvey]

Unless the Ethnic canadians start to play cricket , the game will never ever make it big in the country . Asians playing cricket in canada will not help . Does anyone know if the ethnic canadians who mostly like Ice Hockey play any sort of cricket?

Not sure what an "ethnic Canadian" is! Most Canadians I know are about as ethnically mixed as they come.

Cricket may be the fastest growing sport there, but it's starting from almost nothing. When I was over there last Summer, there was quite a bit of cricket shown on sports channels, but it was mainly highlights of one day matches from months or years ago. Live cricket was only available on specialist Asian channels, and until that changes it will not enter the mainstream.

My in-laws do tell me that they're noticing more cricket stories in the Canadian media nowadays, but it's quite possible that they are only noticing it because they know I'm a cricket fan, and until I came into their lives, they were not even particularly aware of the sport's existence!

I don't think cricket is going to overhaul baseball anytime soon, but there's no reason why it can't continue to grow in popularity if promoted in the right way. I don't see why there's an obsession with making cricket more popular than football, baseball, etc. in any case.

It doesn't need to be more popular than these sports in order to prosper.

 

[ShehryarK]

When I was over there last Summer.

Off-topic Harv, but do you ever stay at home mate?

How many days a year do you get off in your job!

 

[Dragon]

The real canadians only care about hockey as far as I know. However the NRI's from india, pak and other asian countries like cricket. As of right now there's no hope for cricket to take over.

 

[sohaib17]

no way cricket will ever overtake ice hockey ... thats for sure ... its like in their blood just like cricket is in ( Our) blood ....
as far as baseball is concerned well ... blue jays are on the rise again n with only one team to support there are some die heart fans including me ( see my avatar)


my love for sports

1. Hockey (LEAFS)
2. CRICKET ( PAK)
3. BASEBALL ( JAYS)

 

[tahir_dj]

O well Only the English could teach them Cricket and banning baseball at that time... there would have been more cricket than it is now.

 

[Fozz]

I don't think cricket is going to overhaul baseball anytime soon, but there's no reason why it can't continue to grow in popularity if promoted in the right way. I don't see why there's an obsession with making cricket more popular than football, baseball, etc. in any case.

I asked about baseball and Canada because I wasn't sure how popular the sport was in that country (I assumed it's not as popular as in America), and I know that there's no way in hell that cricket ever gets close to ice hockey.

 

[sohaib17]

I asked about baseball and Canada because I wasn't sure how popular the sport was in that country (I assumed it's not as popular as in America), and I know that there's no way in hell that cricket ever gets close to ice hockey.

well yeah baseball isn't as popular as ice hockey but its still the Sports of summer for most canadians .......

only major league team in Canada it makes baseball all that important and the audience and fan interest is still there with tv rating pretty high .... with Jays not making play offs for 17 yrs now .... just wonder what will happen when they finally make it to the play offs it will be crazy


fans are there they r just waiting for the team to rise to glory n u ll see 50 000 people at RC every night


No way Cricket is overtaking Baseball or Hockey ...... even can't ovetake soccer with so many european n soccer crazy fans here

 

[Express Pace]

Montreal Expos moved to Washington in 2005, so they only have the Blue Jays now. But Ice Hockey is by far the most popular sport in Canada.

 

[PakZameen]

Toronto Blue Jays and Montreal Expos as I recall.

Expos moved away awhile ago. To be quite honest Jays haven't done anything since their back-to-back world series so their support isn't greatest. Even then baseball is and will be much more popular. The reason being is the time it takes to complete a cricket match. Anyone who's heard of cricket seem to have only heard of test format and they shake their heads at a 5 day match.

But the biggest reason is hockey. Hockey is deeply rooted in Canadians and for a good reason, love fast-paced up and down action. Almost every kid plays hockey growing up and Canada's is the best at it.

Baseball came number of years ago and is still losing. Canada's has lost a Major League team in Expos, few AAA teams in Cannons etc. With only Jays. Most kids play baseball but don't have the desire to pursue it professionally. A recent article actually showed less and less kids are registering for youth leagues.

Basketball came 15-16 years ago with 2 teams and we lost one of them in Grizzlies. Raptors are constantly fighting to keep their stars, they've basically gone towards drafting, bringing in European players so they don't bolt right away. Among the youth, basketball is very popular in the Ontario region, they're producing some elite talent but outside of Ontario maybe there is some talent in BC area but almost nothing elsewhere.

NFL is well liked in Canada but we got no teams even though Toronto has been trying to bring in one for number of years. CFL is popular is cities where there are teams. Lots of football playing teenagers in Canada that end up playing at CIS and NCAA level.

Soccer is entering in Canada AGAIN but its failed too many times to be ever taken seriously here.

You can combine all other sports, league and they would still be well behind hockey. Cricket can come in and be very popular among South Asians, Ausies, English etc, the folks who've seen and have knowledge about cricket. Other then that, its very hard to get Canadians to spend their resources on anything other then hockey. And for that reason alone, cricket will not surpass even baseball in Canada.

 

[C++]

Expos moved away awhile ago. To be quite honest Jays haven't done anything since their back-to-back world series so their support isn't greatest. Even then baseball is and will be much more popular. The reason being is the time it takes to complete a cricket match. Anyone who's heard of cricket seem to have only heard of test format and they shake their heads at a 5 day match.

But the biggest reason is hockey. Hockey is deeply rooted in Canadians and for a good reason, love fast-paced up and down action. Almost every kid plays hockey growing up and Canada's is the best at it.

Baseball came number of years ago and is still losing. Canada's has lost a Major League team in Expos, few AAA teams in Cannons etc. With only Jays. Most kids play baseball but don't have the desire to pursue it professionally. A recent article actually showed less and less kids are registering for youth leagues.

Basketball came 15-16 years ago with 2 teams and we lost one of them in Grizzlies. Raptors are constantly fighting to keep their stars, they've basically gone towards drafting, bringing in European players so they don't bolt right away. Among the youth, basketball is very popular in the Ontario region, they're producing some elite talent but outside of Ontario maybe there is some talent in BC area but almost nothing elsewhere.

NFL is well liked in Canada but we got no teams even though Toronto has been trying to bring in one for number of years. CFL is popular is cities where there are teams. Lots of football playing teenagers in Canada that end up playing at CIS and NCAA level.

Soccer is entering in Canada AGAIN but its failed too many times to be ever taken seriously here.

You can combine all other sports, league and they would still be well behind hockey. Cricket can come in and be very popular among South Asians, Ausies, English etc, the folks who've seen and have knowledge about cricket. Other then that, its very hard to get Canadians to spend their resources on anything other then hockey. And for that reason alone, cricket will not surpass even baseball in Canada.

only if Cdn. govt. seriously starts funding cricket infrastructure, domestic leagues and professional players with good salaries...i.e. like 2-3 million dollars per year for top players. Then you will see even some big names from baseball switch to cricket.

Else, no.

 

[GOAT]

Big names fro baseball to cricket just sounds dumb. What makes you think they'd succeed? The same applies for the opposite situation.

The requirements for baseball are pretty different from cricket. They concentrate a lot more on power than anything else, pitcher's throw some very fast balls too. I doubt they could adjust to the cricketing rules and still keep there speeds.

 

[RehanG]

when to cricket in canada?

only place where u can cricket is toronto that too only for 3-4 months.. in calgary it snows till may.. even i saw once in june.. so!

 

[C++]

Big names fro baseball to cricket just sounds dumb. What makes you think they'd succeed? The same applies for the opposite situation.

The requirements for baseball are pretty different from cricket. They concentrate a lot more on power than anything else, pitcher's throw some very fast balls too. I doubt they could adjust to the cricketing rules and still keep there speeds.

Not talking about bowlers/pitchers here. But things like batting (sloggers especially) is transferrable I reckon. Will take practice and training but it is possible IMO.

 

[PakistaniThinkTank]

maybe T-20 Will , but i dont think ODI

 

[GOAT]

Not talking about bowlers/pitchers here. But things like batting (sloggers especially) is transferrable I reckon. Will take practice and training but it is possible IMO.

Doubt it. Have you held a baseball bat? No way a professional from one sport can change over to another sport and still be amazing, there's been a few multi sport athletes but they'd essentially be wasting the years they've invested in learning their sport.

 

[Robert]

Doubt it. Have you held a baseball bat? No way a professional from one sport can change over to another sport and still be amazing, there's been a few multi sport athletes but they'd essentially be wasting the years they've invested in learning their sport.

Back in the early eighties, Ian Botham accepted a "Baseball challenge" from MLB legend Jackie Robinson, which was held at The Oval. They found a AAA pitcher to pitch to them both. Botham missed a lot of pitches, but still bashed some home runs.

 

[GOAT]

Thats pretty cool actually, however if he missed 3 in a row he'd have been outta there. Thanks for that though, first I'm hearing of it

 

[PakPosheeda]

Only T20 can pave the way. T20 looks exciting enough to new people.

 

[CricMaveRick]

personally I would prefer If cricket stayed within the countries which are playin em rite now !! Don want too many to spoil the broth

12-15 Test playing countries should be ideal !!!!

 

[Thivagar]

'No future for Canada until the system improves'

Canada captain Rizwan Cheema talks about how the lack of professionalism from the board and the players is hurting the game in the country

Rizwan Cheema is in the last phase of his career. He knows it could have, nay, should have, gone better. In 2008 the world lay outside the door of Canadian cricket and Cheema looked set to make a name for himself as a destructive hitter. Already 30 years old on his debut, he set to work in a hurry. There was no time to play himself in; he wanted to make an impact immediately, and he did, looking untroubled during that golden home season, facing the bowling attacks of West Indies, Pakistan and Sri Lanka and clouting sixes at will. That October was one of unseasonable warmth in Toronto, and Cheema's form with the bat meant that winter, which is always at Canadian cricket's gate, would be kept at bay for a while longer.

Fast-forward some six years to the 2015 World T20 Qualifier in Scotland and Ireland and Cheema brings Stannis Baratheon from Game of Thrones to mind - sword drawn, watching the Bolton army approach, knowing this is going to be a rout, knowing that it should never have to come this, knowing that he is better than this. And that his team too was better than this.

Canada went into the tournament optimistic about finally getting back on Broadway, but before the tournament even began, players began dropping off with fitness issues and due to confusing selection issues typical of Canada cricket. As captain, Cheema could only fume at his decimated ranks as a return to cricket's main stage slipped out of reach.

Cheema knows what Canadian cricket has lost in the last two years and what it continues to haemorrhage. Dropping down to Division 3, losing ODI status, missing out on the World T20 again - he knows there is no easy way back. His own career for Canada hangs in the balance, but true to form he pulls no punches in assessing where Canadian cricket currently stands.

"The day the team needs you, you say you're injured - I don't understand that. Our physio asked me, 'What kind of injuries are these? One day it's on one side, the other day it's on the other side. Are these guys serious?'"
"There's no future for the Canadian team until the system improves," Cheema says. "There's no cricket planned for us. There's nothing for Canada to look forward to until another qualifier comes around. Once you slip down the pecking order [in Associate cricket] it's hard to climb out. It's hard to even have players for the team. If there's no career as a cricketer, how do you keep your players interested?

"When we lost ODI status [at the World Cup Qualifier in 2014] I was not in the team, but I was so depressed. I felt like no one at the board truly understood what this meant - the magnitude of this loss for our cricket and what it would take to get it back."

Cheema's list of frustrations with Canadian cricket is long, but team selection and player compensation are particular bugbears.

"You can be practising with someone and a week before a tour you don't even know who will be going. As a captain it makes it very hard to plan. I look at Ireland, Netherlands and Afghanistan. They keep their teams largely intact. There's continuity there. At the 2015 World Cup Qualifier, we changed seven players as well as the coach from the previous tournament just a few weeks earlier. How is the team going to do well?

"After the 2011 World Cup we included six to eight kids from the Under-19 team. You need youth in a team, but we put in too many players who were not experienced or even mature enough to play for Canada, and I should say there are a few of those who are still around and still haven't matured. The Canada cap came too easily for too many players. It doesn't take much to get selected for Canada, but once you're selected you should at least play with your full commitment."

Cheema cites the World T20 Qualifier as symptomatic of many of the ills plaguing the team.

"There are guys [in the team] who won't put their hand up when the team needs them. Just having talent is not enough. In T20 cricket there's no room for selfishness. In 50-over cricket you can still play for yourself - score a hundred and it benefits the team. But in T20 cricket sometimes you'll get ten overs to bat and sometimes only four balls, and people don't understand this very basic thing. I told the team I don't care about anyone's individual performance or how fast you can bowl - tell me what you've done for the team. Every ball I've ever faced, every ball I've ever fielded, I did it with passion and pride in representing Canada. If you want to play for Canada it has to mean a lot to you, or there's no point. We had players more focused on what was happening with their club back in Toronto than how we as the national team were doing."

Cheema says that Canada's preparation for the World T20 Qualifier was so poor that prior to departure the squad didn't have a single practice session. He is also particularly aggrieved that no fitness tests were conducted before departure and that Canada went to the Qualifier with players of questionable fitness, who started dropping off once the tournament began. Worse, there were those who the captain suspects were not injured at all but simply balked when the going got tough.

"I am disappointed in the players who hid their injuries and went to the tournament but couldn't play a match. This isn't fair to your team-mates or the country. I've played with broken fingers all taped up. I played the whole 2011 World Cup with an injured elbow. You have to man up when you're representing your country. If someone says, 'Oh my shoulder is hurting' - that's nothing. The day the team needs you, you say you're injured - I don't understand that. Even our physio was amazed. He asked me, 'What kind of injuries are these? One day it's on one side, the other day it's on the other side. Are these guys serious?' In the last match we were literally down to 11 players. One more injury and we couldn't have fielded an XI. There wasn't even anyone who could run and bring water."

"It's not the players' problem that the board is short of funds. If it's somebody's job to secure sponsorship and they haven't done that, why are they still around?"
Cheema says there are cricketers in Canada who have the drive and the right attitude, but in Canadian cricket's greatly diminished circumstances, the practical realities of life coming in the way of cricket are unavoidable. It may well spell the end of his own international career.

"Money isn't everything, but the truth is that if I don't have the resources to train properly then I can't compete at the highest level. I don't get paid enough to be able to focus just on cricket. Cricket is my passion - the only thing I've ever loved is cricket, but if you're playing international cricket, you have to give it your best shot. I feel embarrassed when I'm not good enough. If I don't have the resources to stay fit for international cricket and support myself, I don't want to play just for the sake of playing."

While Cheema maintains that he wants to continue playing for Canada, what he expects from the board, especially now, seems beyond its reach to deliver. Cricket Canada is notorious for being cash-strapped, but it's a position that Cheema has no sympathy for.

"There are people at Cricket Canada whose job it is to make sure the organisation has money to function properly and pay its players. It's not the players' problem that the board is short of funds. If it's somebody's job to secure sponsorship and they haven't done that, why are they still around?"

It is a fair question. Cricket Canada is not an organisation where officials are known to step down after a calamitous performance or failure to deliver on an undertaking. Players, though, have been known to walk away. Former captain Ashish Bagai did it. And Cheema may well be on his way too.

While Cheema always talked about his desire to take on the best players in the world and be known as a destructive hitter, it's not the World Cup warm-up boundary-fest against England, or the T20 bludgeoning of Sri Lanka, or the ferocious 89 against West Indies that he cites as his career highlight. It's Canada's 2009 World Cup Qualifier win against Kenya, where he scored 49 off 24 balls. "That win put us in the 2011 World Cup," he says with pride, before adding, "hitting Muttiah Muralitharan for two sixes in the World Cup was also pretty special. No one else did that."

http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/908647.html

 

[Thivagar]

The day the team needs you, you say you're injured - I don't understand that. Our physio asked me, 'What kind of injuries are these? One day it's on one side, the other day it's on the other side. Are these guys serious?'"

Lot of guys don't have passion and aren't good enough. I saw some of the u-19 "spinners" just dart the damn ball and use pace as their main variation. There was a guy who hit 60 not out vs Netherlands in his debut match and that was it, he was never selected ever again.

 

[Thivagar]

At the 2015 World Cup Qualifier, we changed seven players

After the 2011 World Cup we included six to eight kids from the Under-19 team. You need youth in a team, but we put in too many players who were not experienced or even mature enough to play for Canada, and I should say there are a few of those who are still around and still haven't matured.

We had players more focused on what was happening with their club back in Toronto than how we as the national team were doing."

Cheema says that Canada's preparation for the World T20 Qualifier was so poor that prior to departure the squad didn't have a single practice session. He is also particularly aggrieved that no fitness tests were conducted before departure and that Canada went to the Qualifier with players of questionable fitness, who started dropping off once the tournament began. Worse, there were those who the captain suspects were not injured at all but simply balked when the going got tough.

Money isn't everything, but the truth is that if I don't have the resources to train properly then I can't compete at the highest level. I don't get paid enough to be able to focus just on cricket.

This is the sad state of Cricket in Canada.

 

[Sunzi]

Not happening in our lifetime , people think there are too many rules in cricket .

Laws.

 

[MenInG]

Ontario, March 9 (IANS) A little over two decades after the Sahara Cup created a furore in Canada, cricket is making a serious comeback in the Great White North.

The demand is on the rise to have a series of ODIs or even T20s in Canada, especially the province of Ontario with cities like Toronto (Canadaa¿s largest city, Ottawa (Canada''s capital), Mississauga, Brampton, Oakville, home to an estimated 1.7 million people of South Asian origin.

Indians make up for approximately 830,000. There are over 200,000 people of Pakistani origin and another 200,000 people of Sri Lankan origin. Many more from South Asia - probably motivated by restrictive immigration policies under the Trump administration and the difficulty of obtaining green cards in the United States - are seeking permanent residence in Canada.

With such a cultural mix, it is a great platform to push cricket, feel Canadian sports administrators.For the records, the Sahara Cup was being played in Toronto from 1996-98 for three years.

The tournament was played between India and Pakistan and was brought by IMG, ESPN and TWI with the boards of both India and Pakistan signing a five-year deal.

After three years, it stopped because of the 1999 Kargil War. Now, almost two decades later, the Canadian officials feel creating another tournament like that would be a great opportunity. Sources in the Ontario government say that along with an economic and trade delegation, a sports delegation from Canada will soon travel to India to discuss the modalities of hosting such a tournament every alternate year.

There are also thoughts to give a presentation to top officials of the International Cricket Council (ICC), the controlling body of the game. The Canadian government is very clear that it will not allow Canada to be home to masala matches. It wants to play by the rulebook and wants to get both ICC, BCCI and other cricketing boards involved.

It is immediately not clear that whether the Canadian government is seeking a rerun of India-Pakistan series, Ottawa is aware of increased tensions between the two South Asian neighbours. It wants some top-class cricket series involving India and some other country, to start with.

In short, the demand for high quality cricket matches is growing fast in Canada. In October 2019, a headline in The Toronto Star caught the eye. It read: Toronto needs cricket pitches, basketball courts, as demographics change and ice rinks go cold.The story cited a $2.2-billion master facilities plan for Toronto which revealed proposals for 30 new outdoor basketball courts over the next 20 years, 45 new soccer fields and 18 new indoor pools along with five cricket pitches (fields). But only one more indoor ice rink.

In the interview to The Toronto Star, Janie Romoff, general manager of Parks, Forestry and Recreation for the city of Toronto, said, "We haven''t seen a huge increase in demand for hockey. Soccer continues to be a huge growth sport. Cricket is a big need coming through loud and clear."

"Newcomers to Canada are increasingly calling Toronto home and more than 50 percent of our population was born outside of the country. People wish to play the sports that they are most familiar with and our plan responds to the diverse cultural needs of our residents," the city said in a statement.

Minister of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture for the province of Ontario, Lisa Anne MacLeod, said, "We (Ontario) are the world in one province. When Toronto Raptors won (NBA title) it reflected that diversity. My Job is to ensure that sport is attainable for every Ontarian regardless of where they come from."

Cricket was once the most popular sport in Canada until the early 20th Century before it was overtaken by hockey. Today, cricket is one of the fastest growing sports in Canada. There are more than 40,000 cricketers across the nation.

The GT20, Canada''s own T20 professional league with six teams will be ready for a third edition this summer hoping to beat the 50 million TV audience it garnered last year. Some of the international stars who played in the 2019 edition were Yuvraj Singh, Shahid Afridi and Chris Gayle.

Speaking on bringing in cricket to the city and to the GTA (Greater Toronto Area), the Minister for Sport said, "We are a large South Asian population and I would be very interested in hosting a major cricket match here as sports minister. We are very open in bringing cricket as it is very appealing to Ontarians."

There is a lot of work being done in the provincial sports organisations through which a lot of young stars have come through. One of the examples cited by the Minister of Sport Lisa MacLeod is Bianca Andreescu, the US Open women''s singles champion and also the child of Romanian immigrants.

"Bianca is amazing and that is ample proof of the work happening at the provincial sports grass root level," MacLeod said.

Deepak Anand, a Member of the Provincial Parliament (MPP) in Ontario who migrated to Canada from India (Chandigarh) in 2000, is excited about cricket finally developing roots in Canada. "Cricket is not only South Asian but also a Commonwealth Game. In fact, not many know that the first Canadian Prime Minister Sir John Macdonald was a huge cricket fan. Cricket is deeply rooted in Canadian history. There is a lot of appetite for cricket. 830,000 people of Indian descent live here in Ontario," Anand said.

So, is Ontario open for a bigger cricket tournament knowing that if India comes down to play a bilateral series or a three-nation event, Indian fans from India and across the US will flood the streets of Toronto?

"Why not. We already have the T20 and Ontario is ready for investment into cricket. There is a delegation from Canada headed by the Minister of Economic, Trade and Job Creation which is going to India and we are looking for investment into sport, into cricket. Ontario is the best place to invest and grow cricket," said an excited Anand.

Lisa MacLeod was in India during one of her overseas trips and loved it. "I fell in love with Mumbai and it was also fantastic to meet the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. India is a great place and a great partner with us in the Commonwealth. I encourage every Indian to come to Ontario," MacLeod said.

May be, the roots that India has been trying to develop in the US for cricket to flourish may develop faster in Toronto. Canada could be the next big destination for cricket.

https://www.outlookindia.com/newsscroll/can-cricket-outsmart-ice-hockey-in-canada/1756955

 

[sweep_shot]

Cricket is not even among top 5 sports in Canada. Baseball is miles ahead in terms of popularity. Ice hockey is literally the #1 sport here.

It may change in the future as more folks from South Asia and West Indies migrate to Canada. But, for now, cricket is an irrelevant sport here.

 

[Slog]

Was in Toronto for a day 2 weeks ago.

I legit haven’t seen so many brown people in one place at the same time outside Pakistan. Not even in Dubai lol

 

[sweep_shot]

Was in Toronto for a day 2 weeks ago.

I legit haven’t seen so many brown people in one place at the same time outside Pakistan. Not even in Dubai lol

There are many brown people but cricket is not that popular. Most brown folks here are into basketball and other western sports. Cricket is gaining in popularity but it has a long way to go.

Cricket is currently behind basketball, soccer, ice hockey, baseball, and possibly even volleyball.

 

[SensiblePakFan]

Definitely a strong market for it lol

 

[sweep_shot]

There are many brown people but cricket is not that popular. Most brown folks here are into basketball and other western sports. Cricket is gaining in popularity but it has a long way to go.

Cricket is currently behind basketball, soccer, ice hockey, baseball, and possibly even volleyball.

Forgot to add NFL.

Canada cricket has gone downhill. I can see only T20 being popular in Canada.