Canada bows out of cricket’s World Twenty20 Cup

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Canada may have bowed out of the World Twenty20 Cup tournament, but opening batsman Yuvraj Samra will go down in the competition’s history books for his exhilarating knock in a losing cause.

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At 19 years old, the Brampton-born Samra became the youngest and first player from an associate country to score a century versus New Zealand at Chennai on Tuesday.

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But the Kiwis advanced to the Super 8s, the next stage of the competition, along with England, South Africa, West Indies, India and South Africa.

While Samra was basking in the Chennai sunshine, mighty Australia — one of the perennial World Cup finalists — was headed home.

The Aussies needed a win by Zimbabwe over Ireland later in the day in Pallekele, but heavy rain in the Sri Lankan city sent the Australians packing, much to the delight of the other championship contenders.

The wheels of the Aussie campaign came off on the weekend when it was stunned by Sri Lanka. The co-hosts got a courageous century from Pathum Nissanka, who reached his three figures off 52 balls as it overtook Australia’s 182 runs in 18 overs.

But Tuesday belonged to young Samra, who at 19 and 141 days, became the first Canadian to get to three figures in this format. The only other Canadian to smash a century in a World Cup encounter was John Davidson, who reached three figures off 67 balls against the West Indies in 2003.

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The star batsman-spinner, who has made his mark in Australia as a player-coach, is back at this T20 tournament as coach of Italy, a country that made heads spin with its performances including a 10-wicket victory over Nepal and a close loss to England.

“I feel this innings could change my life,” Samra said. “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.”

Samra’s 110 runs off 65 balls included 11 fours and six sixes, and he received good support from captain and fellow-opening batsman Dilpreet Bajwa, who contributed 36 off 39 balls, including four boundaries.

This exciting innings could open the doors for the Canadian in the several T20 leagues around the world since Cricket Canada has made life difficult for its international players.

Canada’s preparation for this tournament was rocky as the squad was awarded a meagre $3,000 a month at the end of October for the next four months. This is an utter disgrace in this day and age when one can hardly survive on this pittance when one considers the national body’s treasurer Charles Pais earns a six-figure salary.

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What is mind-boggling is that the International Cricket Council, the governing body of the sport, dished out $300,000 US to each of the 20 teams to prepare for the event. While the other nations planned tours, Canada’s players were huddled in an indoor facility in Toronto until January, when it travelled to Sri Lanka for warm-up matches.

It is worth noting that Cricket Canada will receive $200,000 to be shared between players and staff despite going out in the first-round of the competition.

“I was just really grateful like every day I manifested this moment that I want to score a hundred in the World Cup. I feel like I enjoyed the whole innings. I feel like I just went my way today and I felt great,” Samra said.

All about Samra

Samra is an attacking batsman and he put his instincts to great use against one of the world’s best bowling attacks.

Samra made his international debut in 2025 and has played only 19 T20 internationals, scoring 569 runs in 18 matches with an average of 37.93. And this has included a century and three 50s, with a best score of 110.

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Canada posted 174 and the Test-playing nation blasted 176 for two off 15.1 overs for an eight-wicket triumph.

The only Canadian bowler to make his mark was veteran spinner Saad Bin Zafar, who captured one for 29 off his three overs. New Zealand got its runs from Rachin Ravindra (59 not out) and Glenn Phillips (76 not out).

Samra added it was difficult playing the game in a country where it was only possible to be out in the field for three months in the summer.

“We try to come out to places like Sri Lanka where the weather is good,” he said.

He added the cold weather has an impact on fast bowlers, saying: “There are a lot of good bowlers in Canada but the weather does not really support them, especially fast bowlers because of the cold.”

Meanwhile, tiny Nepal chased down 170 to surprise Scotland with four balls to spare in Mumbai. The Scots recorded 170 for seven with Michael Jones hitting 71 off 45 balls.

Dipendra Singh Airee was the hero for Nepal, finishing with an unbeaten half-century off just 23 balls.

Both teams are out of the tournament with the West Indies and England progressing from this group.

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