A second round match between Toronto Nationals and Montreal Tigers in the 2019 Global T20 Canada was delayed by almost two hours after a player protest due to outstanding payments.
The Toronto Nationals, led by former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh and the George Bailey-led Montreal Tigers initially refused to take the bus at the scheduled departure time from the team hotel to the CAA Centre in Brampton over unpaid wages.
“The game between Montreal Tigers & Toronto Nationals on Wednesday, 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,” said a press release from the organisers.
“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 added.
“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.”
Global T20 Canada, in a statement on their Twitter handle, stated at 12.40 PM local time, made no mention of the protests, stating instead that the match had been “delayed due to technical reasons” and announced that it had been pushed back to a 2.30 PM local time start from the originally scheduled 12.30 PM and that it would remain a full 20-over contest.
However, the issue is not limited to these two teams. An ESPNCricinfo report said that sources have revealed that other squads have told team and league owners Bombay Sports Limited that they will refuse to take the field for the playoff matches beginning on Thursday if outstanding dues aren’t cleared.
