Why a Brampton cricket tournament is attracting 150 million TV viewers worldwide, organizers say

An international cricket tournament held in the Greater Toronto Area not only has a television audience of 150 million people worldwide, it'll also pour millions of dollars into the economy this year, its organizers say.

Cricket is the fastest-growing sport in Canada and this year's Global T20 Canada tournament, taking place in Brampton from July 20 to Aug. 6, will attract tens of thousands of hungry fans, say organizers.

The tournament began in 2018 but had to shut down after its sophomore season due to the pandemic. Now it's attracted top-tier international cricket stars to play on the six Canadian teams in the tournament.

Harsh Thaker, who represents Canada internationally but is playing for the Vancouver Knights in the tournament, says it's been "special" competing alongside players he looks up to, like Rassie van der Dussen.

"You get to learn a lot from all these international stars," said Thaker.

Other big names to grace the field include Harbhajan Singh, Chris Gayle and Shahid Afridi, who are revered amongst the cricket faithful in Brampton.

"A tournament that brings cricket icons and legends to Canada is beautiful and I think it's a gift to Canadian cricket, but it's certainly special to have in Brampton," said Brampton mayor Patrick Brown.

Brown says GT20 shines a spotlight on cricket at a time when there are not enough facilities in Brampton to accommodate the massive surge in demand for the sport, with hundreds of local cricket teams on waitlists to play. He says Brampton adds fields every year, but can't keep pace with the city's devotion to the game.

Jason Harper, the tournament's director, says it's not a hard sell to get international cricketers to come to Canada, given the fan base in Brampton.

He says