In the second edition of the Global T20 Canada, Toronto Nationals (captained by Yuvraj Singh) and Montreal Tigers refused to play on August 7. It was a protest led by Australia's George Bailey over unpaid wages. After a meeting, the match finally started, after a delay of two hours
The ongoing second edition of the Global T20 Canada saw controversy on August 7, when a second-round match between Toronto Nationals and Montreal Tigers was delayed by around two hours due to a players' protest. It is worth noting that former India cricketer Yuvraj Singh is captain of Toronto. According to ESPNcricinfo, the protest was over unpaid wages.
Initially, both teams refused to take the bus from the team hotel to CAA Centre in Brampton. Also, the protest was led by Australia's George Bailey.
A press release from the organisers stated, "The game between Montreal Tigers & Toronto Nationals on Wednesday, August 7th, 2019, was delayed due to procedural issues between the players, the GT20 league, and the franchise owners. All the stakeholders had a meeting and addressed the concerns".
"Global T20 Canada management is doing their best to popularise the game in North America and as a new entity in cricket, are bound to come across certain hurdles," the release said.
"On behalf of GT20 Canada, we sincerely thank all the stakeholders, players, and support staff for their constant support and confidence in us. We deeply regret the inconvenience caused to our sponsors, broadcasters, and millions of fans across the globe".
The tournament's official Twitter handle had said that the delay was due to technical reasons. Also, finally when the match began, which was two hours later from the scheduled time, Toronto defeated Montreal by 35 runs and booked a play-off spot.