GSL is ‘something to look forward to’ for players – Stewart

As its second edition fast approaches, the ExxonMobil Guyana Global Super League (GSL) T20 has been touted as the perfect opportunity for lesser-known players to flex their skills internationally.
This was exclusively related to the Evening News Sport by GSL Director Jamie Stewart.
During an interview, Stewart explained how the GSL quickly became a tournament players look forward to after the completion of their domestic leagues.
Stewart explained, “They see it as a major part of the development pathway for them, an opportunity to give some players some exposure that otherwise they wouldn’t have got. And, in fact, Guyana is giving them this opportunity to go from winning a tournament to playing at almost another level, as a kind of step jump, almost a Super Bowl, in some respects of T20.”

“So, I think it’s become an interesting development pathway for the teams taking part. And it’s no secret that because the event was viewed in the cricket community as a big success last year, we were getting approached by franchises from all over the world who wanted to play, so we were in the fortunate position of being able to pick and choose who was coming this year. But I think the feedback from the world cricket community is that it’s a very welcome new event in the calendar. It gives some of these players and teams something else to aspire to throughout the year.” The GSL Director went on to add.
Cognisant of the trend of participating teams having at least one West Indian player in the so-far-revealed rosters, Stewart highlighted that West Indian participation is something the organisers have encouraged.
“Yeah, it’s something we certainly are encouraging, and, in some ways, you know, the West Indies players are treated slightly differently in terms of the rules regarding the formation of the squads. So, I think you can expect more of that. I think you’re going to see some really, you know, big-name international players, but certainly as an organiser, we encourage the teams to use players from the region because we have some of the most exciting T20 players in the world, as we know. So, they have the option when they’re choosing their international players to use West Indian players.”He divulged to this publication.
Later, speaking to the growth of the tournament, Stewart discussed efforts to further popularise this year’s event.
“We’re growing the telecast footprint; I mean, that’s the primary way that the event reaches out to the world – working very hard to build the social following and the social engagement. We’ve got Australia touring the Caribbean at that point in time, so we’re hoping to see if we can get some of those fans who are coming to come down and watch Hobart games.” Stewart related.
“As you’ll see shortly, we’ll be working with tourism to target North America, which is the most accessible market to come down here. There are a lot of Bangladeshi fans, for instance, who live in North America, so we’ll be reaching out to them directly. So, we’re hoping to get quite a few more visitors this year. Most of all we’re hoping for, as it was last year, really competitive cricket, close games.”
The ExxonMobil Guyana GSL T20 will see five teams, namely, defending champions Rangpur Riders, hosts Guyana Amazon Warriors, Hobart Hurricanes, Central Stags and Dubai Capitals, competing for a USD $1M prize purse from July 10 to 18 in Guyana.