Players from the West Indies and South Africa will finally leave India on commercial flights after being stranded for several days following their exit from the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
Both teams had been waiting in Kolkata for their travel plans to be confirmed. The delay happened because a planned charter flight arranged by the International Cricket Council was cancelled several times due to the crisis in West Asia and related air travel restrictions.
Cricket West Indies arranges commercial flights
Cricket West Indies confirmed that it has arranged commercial flights for its players and support staff. The board said waiting for the charter flight had become uncertain and stressful for the squad.
Some members of the West Indies team have already left India. The remaining players and staff are expected to depart on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The West Indies team had been waiting in India for nine days after their campaign ended on March 1. The board said the long delay and lack of clarity around the charter flight forced them to look for other travel options.
South Africa squad to depart soon
The International Cricket Council said the South Africa squad will start leaving India from Wednesday night. According to the statement, all players and staff are expected to leave within 36 hours.
South Africa were knocked out of the tournament on March 4 but remained in India due to the same travel issues.
Charter flight cancelled several times
The two teams were first scheduled to leave over the weekend. On March 8, the ICC informed them that a charter flight would depart from Kolkata at 2.30 am on March 10.
The flight was supposed to travel first to Johannesburg before heading to Antigua.
However, the ICC later informed the teams that the flight had been cancelled. Another flight planned for later on March 10 was also cancelled.
According to an ICC email, airports at both destinations had informed charter operators that no ad hoc charter flight would be allowed to refuel until further notice. Because of this rule, the flight could not take off.
Players express frustration over delays
Players and coaching staff from both teams have been stuck in India for more than a week after their World Cup campaigns ended.
The travel problems were caused by the ongoing crisis in West Asia, which led to some airspaces being closed or restricted. Several players from both teams shared their frustration about the delay on social media while waiting to return home.
