Yuvraj Singh-led Toronto Nationals vs Montreal Tigers game delayed due to payment issues

In an unprecedented scene on Wednesday, a player protest at the Global T20 Canada delayed a second-round match between Toronto Nationals and Montreal Tigers by two hours. Players and other members from both the sides refused to board the bus at the scheduled departure to express their displeasure. The broadcasters did not mention anything about the protest. Toronto Nationals, the team which is led by former India batsman Yuvraj Singh, were scheduled to face George Bailey’s Montreal Tigers at 10 pm IST. However, the players’ protest delayed the proceedings.

Media reports suggested that the teams were unhappy over the unpaid wages. With things getting out of hands and confusion prevailing all over, Global T20 issued a statement to give a clarification.  The statement pretty much made it clear that non-payment of wages was the reason behind the protest.

“The game between Montreal Tigers and 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,” said the organisers in the statement.

The game, meanwhile, was very crucial for the Toronto Nationals. Before the game started, they were at fifth place on four points and needed a win in order to advance to the play-off stage. Thus abandoning the match via protest would have ended their season. However, the team did not hesitate in taking the risk in order to make sure that the players receive their wages.

Toronto Nationals beat Montreal Tigers

Well, the game finally took place after a long delay. Toronto Nationals moved to the third position in the points table after dismantling the Tigers by 35 runs. Asked to bat first, the Nationals scored 189 for 5 in their allotted 20 overs. Opener Rodrigo Thomas laid the foundation for the big score by scoring 70. Heinrich Klaasen then provided the finishing touches by playing an unbeaten knock of 64 off just 34 balls.

In reply, Montreal Tigers were all out for 154. Matthew Cross (39) and Dinesh Chandimal (36) were the only two batsmen who provided some resistance. Mitchell McClenaghan and Chris Green starred with the ball for Nationals by picking up three wickets each.