Yuvraj Singh-led GT20 side Toronto Nationals led the protest against unpaid wages, alongside George Bailey's Montreal Tigers.
The inaugural edition of the Global T20 Canada League faced a big controversy when players from Toronto Nationals and Montreal Tigers refused to board the team bus due to non-payment of wages, journalist Peter Della Penna revealed.
Toronto Nationals, which is led by former Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh protested over outstanding dues, thus causing a delay in the match. The players were supposed to be present on the field 75 minutes ahead of the scheduled start at 10 PM, but didn't board the bus.
Breaking news: Sources say Montreal Tigers & Toronto Nationals are refusing to board the team bus to the CAA Center for today's @GT20Canada match over outstanding player payments. Buses was supposed to leave an hour ago. Match due to start in 75 minutes but players not at field.
— Peter Della Penna (@PeterDellaPenna) August 7, 2019
TV coverage on Hotstar in the USA of the @GT20Canada is currently showing a replay of a previous match between Brampton and Vancouver with a scroll along the bottom that reads "Global T20 2019 match between Montreal Tigers and Toronto Nationals will begin shortly. Stay tuned!"
— Peter Della Penna (@PeterDellaPenna) August 7, 2019
The GT20 League, on their official Twitter handle, issued a statement which said, "The match between @MontrealTigers and @TorontoNational has been delayed due to technical reasons."
The match between @MontrealTigers and @TorontoNational has been delayed due to technical reasons.
— GT20 Canada (@GT20Canada) August 7, 2019
The game will now start at 2:30PM local time.
It will be a 20-over-a-side match. #GT2019
Further, the league issued a detailed statement on the issue, where it apologized for the "inconvenience caused to sponsors, broadcasters and millions of fans across the globe."
Statement: #GT2019 pic.twitter.com/tni1wPaB00
— GT20 Canada (@GT20Canada) August 7, 2019