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NCL GT20 Caribbean Edition 2026 Opens at Arnos Vale on October 23
Cricket · NCL GT20 · St Vincent and the Grenadines · Preview
NCL GT20 Caribbean Edition 2026 Opens at Arnos Vale on October 23
Five franchises, 18 matches and a one-season move from Canada to the Caribbean, with former India players in the squads and coverage in India on ZEE5 and Unite8 Sports.
23 October to 2 November.
The NCL GT20 Caribbean Edition 2026 begins on Friday, 23 October, at Arnos Vale Stadium in St Vincent and the Grenadines, when Toronto Kings meet Vancouver Guardians at 7 pm local time. It is a Canadian T20 league staged abroad for one season: five franchises play 18 matches over 11 days, ending with the final on 2 November. For viewers in India, the opening ball is at 4.30 am IST on Saturday, and the squads include Indian names such as Unmukt Chand, Vijay Shankar, KS Bharat and Rishi Dhawan.
The NCL GT20 Caribbean Edition 2026 at a glance
| Dates | 23 October to 2 November 2026 (27 October is a rest day) |
| Venue | Arnos Vale Stadium, St Vincent and the Grenadines |
| Format | Twenty20: 15 league matches, two semifinals and a final |
| Teams | Toronto Kings, Vancouver Guardians, Mississauga Skyhawks, Montreal Warriors, Brampton Blazers |
| Opening match | Toronto Kings v Vancouver Guardians, 7 pm local time (4.30 am IST, Saturday 24 October) |
| Semifinals | 1 November: Rank 1 v Rank 4 and Rank 2 v Rank 3 |
| Final | 2 November, 7 pm local time (4.30 am IST, Tuesday 3 November) |
| Watch in India | ZEE5 and Unite8 Sports |
| Time zone | Local time is Atlantic Standard Time (UTC−4), 9 hours 30 minutes behind IST |
NCL GT20 Caribbean Edition 2026 fixtures in IST
All NCL GT20 Caribbean Edition 2026 matches are at Arnos Vale Stadium. Local time in St Vincent is 9 hours 30 minutes behind India, so the 7 pm games finish in the early hours of the following morning in India, while the 10 am games start at 7.30 pm IST. The one afternoon match, on 26 October, starts at 12.30 am IST on 27 October.
| Match | Date | Local | India (IST) | Fixture |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oct 23 | 7 pm | Sat 24 Oct, 4:30 am | Toronto Kings v Vancouver Guardians |
| 2 | Oct 24 | 10 am | Sat 24 Oct, 7:30 pm | Mississauga Skyhawks v Montreal Warriors |
| 3 | Oct 24 | 7 pm | Sun 25 Oct, 4:30 am | Brampton Blazers v Toronto Kings |
| 4 | Oct 25 | 10 am | Sun 25 Oct, 7:30 pm | Vancouver Guardians v Mississauga Skyhawks |
| 5 | Oct 25 | 7 pm | Mon 26 Oct, 4:30 am | Montreal Warriors v Brampton Blazers |
| 6 | Oct 26 | 10 am | Mon 26 Oct, 7:30 pm | Toronto Kings v Montreal Warriors |
| 7 | Oct 26 | 3 pm | Tue 27 Oct, 12:30 am | Mississauga Skyhawks v Brampton Blazers |
| 8 | Oct 28 | 10 am | Wed 28 Oct, 7:30 pm | Vancouver Guardians v Brampton Blazers |
| 9 | Oct 28 | 7 pm | Thu 29 Oct, 4:30 am | Toronto Kings v Mississauga Skyhawks |
| 10 | Oct 29 | 10 am | Thu 29 Oct, 7:30 pm | Vancouver Guardians v Montreal Warriors |
| 11 | Oct 29 | 7 pm | Fri 30 Oct, 4:30 am | Mississauga Skyhawks v Toronto Kings |
| 12 | Oct 30 | 10 am | Fri 30 Oct, 7:30 pm | Brampton Blazers v Vancouver Guardians |
| 13 | Oct 30 | 7 pm | Sat 31 Oct, 4:30 am | Montreal Warriors v Toronto Kings |
| 14 | Oct 31 | 10 am | Sat 31 Oct, 7:30 pm | Montreal Warriors v Vancouver Guardians |
| 15 | Oct 31 | 7 pm | Sun 1 Nov, 4:30 am | Brampton Blazers v Mississauga Skyhawks |
| SF1 | Nov 1 | 10 am | Sun 1 Nov, 7:30 pm | Rank 1 v Rank 4 |
| SF2 | Nov 1 | 7 pm | Mon 2 Nov, 4:30 am | Rank 2 v Rank 3 |
| Final | Nov 2 | 7 pm | Tue 3 Nov, 4:30 am | Winner SF1 v Winner SF2 |
India viewers
Watch the 10 am games from 7.30 pm IST. The 7 pm games start at 4.30 am IST the next day.
How the NCL GT20 Caribbean Edition 2026 works
In the NCL GT20 Caribbean Edition 2026 the five teams are Toronto Kings, Vancouver Guardians, Mississauga Skyhawks, Montreal Warriors and Brampton Blazers. From the published fixtures, each side plays six league matches, and the teams ranked first to fourth reach the semifinals on 1 November. The first-placed team plays the fourth and the second plays the third. The winners meet in the final on 2 November.
The organisers’ fixture graphics give the same local times as the release. The league’s website fixtures page lists the semifinals and final an hour later, so check it for any update before the knockouts.
Players and squads in the NCL GT20 Caribbean Edition 2026
There was no player draft, and the franchises are announcing signings as they go, so the squads on the league’s players page are still being filled. Lance Klusener is head coach of Mississauga Skyhawks and Rayad Emrit of Toronto Kings. Captains have not been announced.
| Brampton Blazers | Jason Roy, Chadwick Walton, Oshane Thomas, KS Bharat (listed as Kona Srikar Bharat) |
| Mississauga Skyhawks | Fabian Allen, Wayne Parnell, Andre Fletcher, Unmukt Chand, Vijay Shankar |
| Montreal Warriors | Rishi Dhawan, Kyle Mills |
| Toronto Kings | Evin Lewis, Mohammad Amir, Rahkeem Cornwall, JJ Smuts |
| Vancouver Guardians | Colin Ingram, George Munsey, Adam Rossington, Tom Abell |
Four names in the NCL GT20 Caribbean Edition 2026 will stand out in India. Unmukt Chand, who captained India to the 2012 Under-19 World Cup, and Vijay Shankar are with Mississauga Skyhawks. Wicketkeeper-batter KS Bharat, who has played Tests for India, is with Brampton Blazers, and all-rounder Rishi Dhawan is with Montreal Warriors.
Why NCL GT20 is playing in the Caribbean
The league has Canadian roots and normally plays in Canada. The NCL GT20 Caribbean Edition 2026 is a one-season move to St Vincent and the Grenadines, and the league is due back in Canada in 2027. Cricket Canada and Cricket West Indies are working together on the event, and the Cricket West Indies chief executive, Chris Dehring, has said the tournament can build ties between Canadian and Caribbean cricket and give Canada’s players new pathways. Cricket Canada president Arvinder Khosa has called it fundamentally a Canadian tournament that is visiting a special host.
NCL GT20’s head of partnerships, Gaurav Dewani, said the league wants to take cricket beyond borders and give emerging players more visibility. The league says it wants to connect experienced players with young Canadian and Caribbean talent.
West Indies great Brian Lara also welcomed the NCL GT20 Caribbean Edition 2026. In a message issued by the league, he said it brings international cricketers and emerging talent to St Vincent and the Grenadines, praised the Caribbean’s cricket heritage, and wished the teams, organisers and fans a memorable event.
How to watch the NCL GT20 Caribbean Edition 2026
In India the NCL GT20 Caribbean Edition 2026 is on ZEE5 and Unite8 Sports. Elsewhere, availability depends on the territory, and the organisers advise checking local listings and the official NCL GT20 channels.
| India | Unite8 Sports and ZEE5 |
| Canada | CBC GEM (digital) and ATN |
| Pakistan | Geo Sports (linear) and MyCo (digital) |
| Bangladesh | T Sports (linear) and MyCo (digital) |
| Afghanistan | Solh Sports (linear and digital) |
| Middle East and North Africa | MyCo |
| Caribbean | Rush Live and Louder (linear and digital) |
| Latin America | Live and Louder (digital) |
| South and Sub-Saharan Africa | Africa XP / Sports Connect (linear and digital, non-exclusive) |
| Australia, New Zealand, Far East and Southeast Asia | Sports Connect (digital, non-exclusive) |
