New Delhi: The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday booked individual commercial flights for stranded members of the South Africa and West Indies cricket teams after their charter flight got cancelled. Several players from the West Indies and South Africa squads remain in Kolkata following the T20 World Cup 2026 due to ongoing tensions in West Asia.
Amid the war between the US, Israel and Iran, the airspace in the Middle East remains shut or restricted, leading to disruption in air travel. The South Africa and West Indies teams got stuck in Kolkata due to international airspace restrictions amid the war. Players and support staff from both teams were scheduled to depart India on a charter flight on Tuesday.
However, the flight reportedly got cancelled due to airspace clearance issues. Both teams were supposed to fly to Johannesburg, South Africa, on the charter flight before the West Indies players left for Antigua to return home. However, the flight was cancelled at the last minute due to logistical issues. ICC then decided to book individual commercial flights for the players.
As per a report in PTI, the seats were not booked on the same airlines, but the ICC took care of the individual booking. It is worth noting that some members of the South Africa and West Indies squads had already left on Monday via alternate routes. West Indies head coach Darren Sammy flew out on Monday, while some members of the Proteas squad travelled to New Zealand last week for a T20I series, which starts on March 15th.
“All the West Indies and South African players have been booked on individual commercial airline flights. Obviously, all can’t be booked on same airlines but ICC has taken care of individual bookings. ICC chairman Jay Shah has personally spoken and assured players of a safe journey back home,” an ICC source was quoted as saying by PTI.
“It must be mentioned that Darren Sammy is already on his way home, having left on Monday night,” the source added.
Why South Africa and West Indies players were stuck in Kolkata?
West Indies have been stranded in Kolkata for over a week now, having played their last match in the T20 World Cup on March 01. South Africa played their last game at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on March 04, losing in the semifinal against New Zealand. Both teams were not able to leave on time due to airspace restrictions in the Middle East amid the ongoing war between Iran, the US and Israel.
As per a report in India Today, 12 West Indies players, along with ten members of their support staff and 12 South African players, along with two members of their support staff, were stuck in Kolkata due to disruption in flights amid tensions in West Asia. It remains to be seen how many of the players and the support staff manage to leave India on Tuesday to return to their respctive home countries.