Global T20 Canada's second season set to start on July 25

The second season of the Global T20 Canada league is set to begin on July 25, with defending champions Vancouver Knights facing hosts Toronto Nationals in the opening game. The tournament will have 22 matches, including three playoffs, with the final taking place on August 11.

The league ends a week before the start of the ICC Americas T20 World Cup Qualifier, which is being staged from August 17-25 in Bermuda and will also feature Canada, Cayman Islands and the USA along with hosts Bermuda.

The Global T20 league has been scheduled to start shortly after the World Cup - it had started in June last year - to avoid clashing with the Euro T20 Slam, which will kick off at the end of August. Incidentally, Mercuri Group, owners of the Canadian league, are also involved with the Slam.

In the inaugural season, all games were played at Maple Leaf Cricket Club in Toronto, and it is likely that all matches this season too will also be held at the same venue.

The first season of the league included high-profile names like Chris Gayle, Andre Russell, David Warner and Steven Smith. The league also unearthed new stars like Rassie van der Dussen and Sherfane Rutherford, who have gone on to feature in various other T20 leagues since.

Brian Lara, the brand ambassador of the league, welcomed the new season, saying, "I was there to see the first edition of the league and was enormously impressed with the overall quality of cricket. Despite a few hiccups, Cricket Canada and GT20 team delivered an outstanding event.

"The hallmark of the event was a local boy Saad Bin Zafar winning the Man of the Match in the all-important finals in the presence of stars like Chris Gayle and Andre Russell. It proves that cricketers from these countries need these kinds of endeavours to prove their talent. I hope GT20 season two will take cricket to greater heights in the North America region."