Incompetence rules Cricket Canada as only half the squad arrived in Scotland for match

Published Jul 29, 2026  •  4 minute read

Canada’s Saad Bin Zafar dives to field the ball during a match between Canada and United Arab Emirates in New Delhi in February. Bin Zafar and his Canadian squad next take on Scotland in Cricket World Cup League action. Photo by Arun Sankar /Getty Images

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The more things change, the more they stay the same when it comes to cricket in Canada.

It is really a crying shame that the national body has over the last four years been stocked with a host of incompetent administrators.

Unfortunately, this latest bunch that were ushered into power a couple of months ago has taken a hit between the eyes. It included being suspended by the International Cricket Council for governance and financial corruption.

What is hard to believe is the old group still wields an inordinate amount of influence and that’s the reason why the national squad has been left scrambling high and dry.

The squad landed in Scotland on the weekend for its crucial Cricket World Cup League 2 tri-nations series against Scotland and the United Arab Emirates with only nine players and six support staff. What happened to the rest?

Six of the top players were left behind because a couple of administrators failed to push through their papers in time. How the hell is this possible since the dates for the matches were known well in advance?

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When they will hook up with the main team captained by star all-rounder Saad Bin Zafar and coached by Monty Desai is still up in the air.

Canada plays on Aug. 7 and 13

The tournament to be held in Dundee will see host Scotland open versus the UAE on Aug. 3 and then face Canada on Aug. 7 and 13. Canada takes on the UAE on Aug. 9. The six have been grounded because the administrators did not apply for the UK ETA (electronic travel authorization) that recently came into effect.

It’s a pretty simple task, but an inside source told The Sun Cricket Canada’s CFO Charles Pais was asleep at the wheel when asked to submit the 500 pounds required for the permits. Pais has come under fire for his ineptitude for several years, but the Montrealer still pulls the strings for the national body.

For the past 10 years, Pais incorrectly designated Cricket Canada as a “non-soliciting corporation” in annual filings and this error allowed Cricket Canada to avoid requirements to file audited financial statements. When will Cricket Canada fire this CFO?

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It is hard to believe this is the state of affairs with the national body. It appears some members of the local board have more clout than the parent body. Isn’t it time to put some of them out to pasture since some of these members have been using Cricket Canada for their own benefit. What a bloody shame since we have a national squad that ranks among the top associate nations and it has its own board trying to sink it.

The six waiting to join the rest are pacemen Kaleem Sana, Ali Khan and Zahid Shirzad, all-rounders Sukhjinder Singh and Shivam Sharma, and batsman Aaron Johnson whose Canadian passport should arrive by the end of this week.

Apart from Pais, the informed source told The Sun that two administrators in Ontario also played a major role in the passport issue as well. “These two were also responsible for Canada forfeiting important points versus the Netherlands when the King City ground was declared too dangerous to play on earlier this year.

The source added the parent body does not have the authority to step in and probe into its financial situation since the CFO still pulls all the strings.

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It is hard to believe that Charles Pais of Montreal who has already been pulled up by the ICC for “falsification of the balance sheets” is still running the show. And it appears some members of the local board have more clout than the parent body. Isn’t it time to put out to pasture some of these board members who have been using Cricket Canada for their own benefit. What a bloody shame since we have a national squad that ranks among the top associate nations and it has its own board trying to sink it.

Another source told The Sun that it was CC’s idea to leave the six behind so that it can field its own favoured players who have been put on standby.

Let’s hope this isn’t true.

This trip to Scotland actually plays a death-defying role for the future of the game in this country. Canada needs to finish in the top four of this CWC League to maintain its vital ODI status. Also, a top-four finish will help advance Canada to the 50-over World Cup qualifiers.

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