ICC books individual commercial flights for stranded WI, SA players

The ICC on Tuesday booked separate commercial flights for the stranded West Indies and South Africa teams after their charter flight scheduled to take off from Kolkata “was cancelled due to logistical issues.”

“All the West Indies and South African players have been booked on individual commercial airline flights. Obviously, all can’t be booked on the 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 privy to the development told PTI on conditions of anonymity. “It must be mentioned that Darren Sammy is already on his way home, having left on Monday night,” the source also informed. The two teams that played their final games in Kolkata (West Indies in Super 8s on March 1 and South Africa on March 4 in the semi-final) have not been able to fly out due to the disruption that has been caused by International airspace restrictions across parts of West Asia following American and Israeli strikes on Iran.

The situation has forced multiple airlines to avoid routes through the Gulf region. ICC’s airline partner is Emirates and they are unable to operate due to the shutdown of Dubai airspace.

The restrictions severely complicated outbound travel from India towards the Caribbean and Africa, forcing cricket authorities to explore alternative routes and charter arrangements.

Earlier, in a communication conveyed on Tuesday evening, both teams were scheduled to leave Kolkata on a shared charter flight to Johannesburg on Tuesday afternoon.

From there, the West Indies contingent was to continue onward to Antigua, while the South Africans were expected to disperse for their respective commitments. However, the flight arrangement was called off hours before the scheduled departure because of some “logistical issues”, an official of the Cricket Association of Bengal told PTI.

“As per a latest development on Tuesday afternoon the ‘chartered flight was cancelled and no further information regarding this is received’, read a message communicated to the West Indies and South Africa teams. “Due to logistical issues the chartered flight may have been cancelled at the last minute so now maximum players are making their own arrangements,” the local official told media.

The West Indies squad has been stranded in Kolkata since March 1 after being knocked out of the T20 World Cup by India, who defeated them by five wickets in their Super Eight match at Eden Gardens on March 1.

South Africa’s campaign had ended a few days later when they lost the first semifinal to eventual runners-up New Zealand at the same venue on March 4, leaving them caught in the same boat. At the time of this report, around 12 West Indies players along with 10 members of the support staff remain in India, while the South African contingent includes 12 players and two support staff.

West Indies head coach Sammy had earlier expressed his frustration over the delay on social media, posting that he “just wanna go home”. A few South African players had already departed earlier due to upcoming commitments. Keshav Maharaj, George Linde and Jason Smith have travelled to New Zealand ahead of a bilateral series against the hosts beginning March 15. Earlier, Cricket West Indies had said it was working with the International Cricket Council to arrange safe travel for the team amid the complex situation caused by airspace restrictions.

“While the situation remains complex and fluid due to international airspace restrictions arising from security concerns in the Gulf region, CWI assures the public that every precaution is being taken to ensure the safe return of the team to the Caribbean,” the CWI had said.

It is likely that some of the West Indies players will stay back to join their respective IPL franchises. The IPL is slated to begin this month-end. Rovman Powell is part of the Kolkata Knight Riders, whose camp begins on March 18, while Sherfane Rutherford represents the Mumbai Indians.

Shimron Hetmyer plays for Rajasthan Royals and Romario Shepherd is with Royal Challengers Bengaluru, who are expected to start training from March 15.