The Montreal Tigers cricket team secured a big win this weekend, taking home the top prize from the GT20 cricket tournament in Brampton, Ont.
“It’s a pretty big win. We will soon be advertising around Montreal because it’s a pretty big win,” said Mudasser Akbar, Montreal Tigers CEO. “We just need to build better facilities and bring home the Montreal Tigers.”
The cricket team currently has no connection to Montreal. It’s based in Brampton. Six of its roster of 16 players are Canadian, the rest are from overseas.
Akbar said he would love for the Tigers to move their base to their namesake city. He said that currently, they just don’t have the right facilities to base a team in Montreal.
“The Tigers are a franchise team. But what the vision of the GT20 owners is — we want to have these facilities built in each one of these cities so we can travel like we play hockey or baseball,” Akbar said.
Six teams, based from British Columbia to Ontario, participated in the 16-day GT20 tournament. The tournament was first played in 2018 and 2019, then stopped because of the pandemic. The international cricket body approved the tournament to take place last May for the first time since the pandemic.
Akbar said cricket is a fast-growing sport in Quebec and across Canada. There are now 45 clubs in the province, up from 16 a few years ago.
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The Tigers say they hope to grow their fan base and support here in Montreal.
“It’s an amazing game if you understand how it works. It’s been played by the British for many years. It’s a lovely game and at the end, it’s all about building friendship, building up sports, and some physical activities,” Akbar said.