T20 World Cup 2026: The International Cricket Council has revealed that all South African and West Indian players stranded in India will now fly back home on Wednesday night. Although a few players of the South African cricket team will be leaving on Wednesday night, the rest will be sent back home within the next 36 hours.
At the same time, nine players of the West Indies cricket team had already left for their home, and the other 16 will be leaving India in the next 24 hours. They have been stuck in India for quite some time owing to disruptions in air travel resulting from geopolitical tensions in West Asia.
“The delay is the direct result of the ongoing crisis across the Gulf region, which has caused widespread and continuing disruption to international air travel, including airspace closures, missile warnings, re-routing constraints, as well as the cancellation and rescheduling of both commercial and charter flights at short notice," a statement released by the ICC said.
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“These are conditions entirely outside the ICC’s control, and they have made each travel solution significantly more complex and time-consuming than under normal circumstances," it said.
The ICC also revealed that they were continuously working with many stakeholders, including airlines, charter operators, airport authorities, and the government, to ensure that all affected teams have a safe return home as soon as possible.
ICC Slams Claims of Preferential Treatment
On the other hand, the global body had also dismissed claims that it might have given priority to the departure of the England team over those of South Africa and the West Indies.
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“Funny @icc, we have heard nothing! Meanwhile, England is leaving before us somehow? @westindies and @proteasmencsa are just in the dark! Strange how different teams have more pull than others," Quinton de Kock had written on his official Instagram account.
“The ICC rejects any suggestion that these decisions have been driven by anything other than safety, feasibility, and welfare. Suggestions otherwise across a variety of media platforms from people uninformed of the situation are as unhelpful as they are incorrect," the statement released by the ICC said.
“There is no link between arrangements made in the cases of South Africa and the West Indies and those made previously for England or any other nation, which arose from separate circumstances, routing options and different travel conditions," it concluded.