All the teams have undergone a complete overhaul for the new season. It has been four years since the last edition, and past performances would have little bearing on this year's outcome. More international players are participating this season, and this would make the tournament competitive. So what is today's GT20 match prediction? It isn't easy to pick a side at the start of any T20 league to win but let's look at the teams.
# Montreal Tigers
Chris Lynn and his men want to add another title to their trophy cabinet. They came back from behind and won the title last year. The side will look for a good start, which they failed to do last season. They have roped in some of the biggest stars in T20 cricket for this season, with Chris Lynn, Tim Seifert, and Gerhard Erasmus adding to their strength. A balance in the bowling attack with all-rounders like Sherfane Rutherford, Aayan Afzal Khan, and Azmatullah Omarzai adds to the strengths. They will start as pre-tournament favorites based on the depth the side has in both departments.
Squad - Chris Lynn (c), Aayan Afzal Khan, Dilpreet Bajwa, Gerhard Erasmus, Zahoor Khan, Tom Latham, Ben Manenti, Azmatullah Omarzai, Sherfane Rutherford, Mohammad Saifuddin, Kaleem Sana, Naveen-ul-Haq, Parveen Dhull, Yuvraj Hundal, Prabhasees Raina, Charanjit Randhawa, Anoop Ravi, Aaditya Varadarajan
# Surrey Jaguars
It was a heartbreaking loss for the Surrey Jaguars in the final last year. They had finished at the top of the points table in the league stage but failed in the final hurdle. Sunil Narine will lead the side, and he brings vast experience to the table. The side has the firepower to go far in this tournament with players like Rizwan Cheema, Marcus Stoinis, Kyle Mayers, and Brandon McMullen. The bowling attack packs a punch with Logan van Beek, Narine, and Harmeet Singh. They have struck the right combination in team selection, and it will be interesting to see how far they can go in the tournament.
Squad - Sunil Narine (c), Marcus Stoinis, Uday Bhagwan, Rizwan Cheema, Navneet Dhaliwal, Terrance Hinds, Ben Lister, Kyle Mayers, Brandon McMullen, Shreyas Movva, Mohammad Nabi, Junaid Siddiqui, Virandeep Singh, Harmeet Singh Baddhan, Hamza Tariq, Logan van Beek, Mansab Gill, Padam Joshi
# Vancouver Knights
They won the first edition of the tournament in 2018. Usman Khawaja is the skipper for this season, after the Pakistani star Mohammad Rizwan failed to receive an NOC from his board. Khawaja will look to repeat the success of 2018 by leading from the front. They did well last year but lost in the 2nd Qualifier. The team has a powerful batting lineup with Khawaja, Reeza Hendricks, and Richie Berrington. The bowling attack makes them formidable, with Mohammad Amir, Sandeep Lamichhane, Dwaine Pretorius, and Paul van Meekeren on the team. They are one of the strongest teams and shall give a tough fight to their opponents.
Squad - Usman Khawaja (c), Reeza Hendricks, Asif Ali, Mohammad Amir, Jeremy Gordon, Rishiv Joshi, Sandeep Lamichhane, Dwaine Pretorius, Michael Rippon, Dipendra Singh Airee, Harsh Thaker, Ruben Trumpelmann, Paul van Meekeren, Sarmad Anwar, Mandeep Girdhar, Yuvraj Samra, Shubham Sharma, Ajayveer Singh.
# Toronto Nationals
The Nationals failed to reach the playoffs last season, winning only two out of their seven league games. Skipper Colin Munro will look to put this behind them and focus on doing well with a positive frame of mind. They had star power last year but failed to meet expectations. The side will hope this is a better season for them and expect Rassie van der Dussen, Colin Munro, Rohit Paudel, and Armaan Kapoor to do well with the bat. The bowling attack looks good with Romario Shepherd, Junaid Siddique, and Mohammad Nawaz, and they shall be among the teams to watch out for this year.
Squad - Colin Munro (c), Armaan Kapoor, Dilraj Deol, Nicholas Kirton, Rassie van der Dussen, Jagandeep Singh, Kanwar Mann, Mohammad Nawaz, Junaid Siddique, Rohit Paudel, Romario Shepherd, Saad Bin Zafar, Andries Gous (wk), Jatinderpal Matharu, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Rohid Khan, Nikhil Dutta, Rishad Hossain
# Bangla Tigers Mississauga
Formerly the Mississauga Panthers, the team had a poor season in 2023, finishing at the bottom of the points table and failing to win any game. They have seen massive changes to their squad for this edition and shall look to make their presence count. Shakib al Hasan is the skipper this year and looks forward to bringing his experience to play. They will expect good performances with the bat from Hazratullah Zazai, Muhammad Waseem, Iftikhar Ahmed and David Wiese. Shakib will look to lead the bowling from the front and expects support from Odean Smith, Shoriful Islam, and Dilon Heyliger. With this firepower, the team expects a better show this year.
Squad - Shakib Al Hasan (c), Hazratullah Zazai, Muhammad Waseem, Pargat Singh, Ravinder Reddy, Rayyan Pathan, David Wiese, Farhan Khan, Gurpal Sidhu, Iftikhar Ahmed, Navjot Dosanjh, Odean Smith, Tajinder Singh, Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Dilon Heyliger, Gurbaz Bajwa, Nav Pabreja, Shoriful Islam
# Brampton Wolves
The Wolves lost in the Eliminator last season and shall look for a better show and their first title. David Warner's presence in the side as captain is a massive boost as he brings great experience. The batting is strong with Warner, Carlos Brathwaite, George Munsey, and Beau Webster in the team. They will also expect a good show with the ball from Andrew Tye, Aryan Dutt, and Harmandeep Singh. It will be interesting to see how far the side goes this year.
Squad - David Warner (c), Aaron Johnson, George Munsey, Josh Brown, Kanwarpal Tathgur, Kobe Herft, Ravinderpal Singh, Abhijai Mansingh, Beau Webster, Carlos Brathwaite, Robin Singh, Akhil Kumar (wk), Andrew Tye, Aryan Dutt, Harmandeep Singh, Jack Jarvis, Muhammad Jawadullah, Samerjeet Singh
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