GT20 Canada 2019 betting tips & predictions

The second edition of the Global T20 Canada is set to begin from July 25. This 18-day long tournament featuring six participating teams - Winnipeg Hawks, Vancouver Knights, Toronto Nationals, Montreal Tigers, Edmonton Royals and Brampton Wolves - will be played in a round-robin format with each team taking on every other team once before the start of round 2 and the playoffs. The CAA Centre in Brampton, Ontario will host all the matches of the GT20 Canada 2019 including the final which is scheduled to be played on August 11.

Read on for team previews, squads, betting odds, tips and predictions for Global T20 Canada 2019...

Vancouver Knights Team News

Vancouver Knights will start the 2019 season as defending champions after having won the inaugural edition last year. They topped the points table at the end of the league phase with four wins and just the one loss from their five completed fixtures. The Knights lost to the now defunct CWI B Team in the first qualifier and then knocked out Winnipeg Hawks in the second qualifier before facing the CWI B Team again in the final and securing a dominant win. Rassie van der Dussen was one of the tournament's leading run-getters last time with 255 runs and he along with Chris Gayle and Andre Russell will be the key batsmen for Vancouver Knights. Tim Southee, who took 10 wickets, will be the team's go-to man with the ball.

Montreal Tigers Team News

Montreal Tigers had a disappointing tournament last time. They finished second from the bottom in the league standings with two wins and four losses from six matches. Losing the first three games on the bounce dealt a big blow to their hopes of a top-four finish. The Tigers played their final league game against the CWI B Team which they won quite comfortably by six wickets. This year, the team's batting will depend primarily on the likes of George Bailey, Kyle Coetzer and Niroshan Dickwella while Sunil Narine, Fawad Ahmed, Isuru Udana and Thisara Perera will be the key figures in the bowling unit.

Brampton Wolves Team News

Brampton Wolves are a new addition in this year's Global T20 Canada and the franchise has replaced the CWI B Team. All-rounders Colin Munro, Daren Sammy and Shakib Al Hasan are the marquee players in the side. Nitish Kumar, Abraash Khan, Armaan Kapoor, Faisal Jamkhandi and Nawab Singh are the five Canadian players in the squad. The Wolves will bank on the likes of Lendl Simmons, Andre Fletcher, Shakib Al Hasan and Colin Munro to make healthy contributions with the bat. Their bowling attack has a few quality bowlers in Wahab Riaz, Shahid Afridi, Shakib Al Hasan and Daren Sammy.

Winnipeg Hawks Team News

With three wins and as many losses, Winnipeg Hawks made it through to the playoffs last time finishing third on the points table. They beat Edmonton Royals by seven wickets in the high-scoring eliminator but a 13-run defeat against Vancouver Knights in the rain-affected Qualifier 2 brought an end to their campaign. Chris Lynn, JP Duminy and Dwayne Bravo are the three marquee players that have been retained by the Hawks for the GT20 Canada 2019. Chris Lynn, Umar Akmal and JP Duminy will be the key men for Winnipeg Hawks in the batting department while Dwayne Bravo, Rayad Emrit and Paul van Meekeren seem to be the team's best bets with the ball.

Toronto Nationals Team News

The inaugural edition of the tournament was a one to forget for the Toronto Nationals who finished at the bottom of the pool with just two wins from their six league encounters. They began their campaign on a positive note with a thrilling six-wicket victory in the high-scoring tournament opener against Vancouver Knights. But three consecutive defeats after that made it very difficult for them to remain in contention for a playoffs spot. Brendon McCullum, Yuvraj Singh and all-rounder Kieron Pollard are the marquee players as well as the key batsmen for Toronto Nationals this season. The team has a pretty good bowling attack with the likes of Trent Boult, Sandeep Lamichhane and Chris Green.

Edmonton Royals Team News

Last year, Edmonton Royals pipped Montreal Tigers by a point to finish fourth on the points table and qualify for the playoffs. They struggled to maintain consistency throughout the tournament and managed to win only two of their five completed fixtures in the league stage. The Royals lost to Winnipeg Hawks by seven wickets in the eliminator which resulted in their elimination. The franchise has retained their three marquee players - Faf du Plessis, Kane Williamson and Australian all-rounder Ben Cutting. James Neesham, who can make vital contributions with both bat and ball, has also been included in the squad. Apart from the New Zealander, Shadab Khan, Safyaan Sharif and Mohammad Nawaz will be the ones to watch out for with the ball.

Winnipeg Hawks and Edmonton Royals both finished in the top four last time but we don't think they will be able to make it past the league stage this season. They do have a few power-hitters in their batting group but lack quality when it comes to bowling. While Dwayne Bravo seems to be the only real threat in Winnipeg's attack, Shadab Khan and James Neesham are the only two reliable wicket-taking options for the Royals.

Vancouver Knights, Montreal Tigers, Toronto Nationals and newcomers Brampton Wolves are the four teams that we believe will progress to the playoffs. Like the Wolves, the Tigers have picked a well balanced squad and a much better performance can be expected of them this time around. Toronto have roped in Yuvraj Singh to add more strength in their batting department that also includes big-hitter Kieron Pollard. Plus, they also have a pretty potent bowling attack with the likes of Trent Boult and Sandeep Lamichhane.

Vancouver Knights have the explosive West Indian duo of Chris Gayle and Andre Russell along with Rassie van der Dussen who scored consistently for South Africa in the World Cup. The current champions will go into the tournament high on confidence and we are backing them to replicate their success of 2018 and defend their title.

Final Verdict: Back Vancouver Knights to win the Global T20 Canada 2019.