Stranded cricketers from SA, WI finally leave India after travel chaos triggered by West Asia conflict

The last batch of South African and West Indian players stranded in India after the T20 World Cup have departed, the ICC announced on Thursday, ending a crisis caused by the closure of Gulf air space in the wake of the raging West Asia conflict.

The ongoing war threw travel plans into disarray, leaving the South African and West Indies teams stranded in Kolkata due to closure of air space and airports at major transit points like Dubai.

The West Indies and South Africa played their final T20 World Cup matches in Kolkata on March 1 and March 4 respectively.

While nine West Indies players had left earlier this week, the remaining 16 were booked on commercial flights. A 29-member Proteas contingent has also departed.

“Within the past 24 hours, South Africa’s remaining 29 members and the West Indies’ final 16 members have departed on flights to their respective homelands, bringing to a close a complex operation that has taken place under exceptionally challenging global travel conditions,” the ICC said.

ICC added that ensuring the “safe onward travel for all players and staff was the sole aim”, which required constant adjustments as conditions evolved.

“Throughout this period, the ICC’s operations and logistics teams have worked continuously with governments, airlines, charter providers, airport authorities and our Member boards to navigate a number of operational disruptions caused by the evolving environment.”

The ICC had earlier drawn criticism from former England captain Michael Vaughan and South African stars Quinton de Kock and David Miller, who insinuated that England players were given better travel arrangements as they were able to leave within a day of their semifinal exit.

Earlier, West Indies head coach Daren Sammy had also expressed frustration at the lack of updates from the governing body after a charter flight scheduled to depart from Kolkata was cancelled due to logistical issues.

The ICC’s airline partner Emirates has been unable to operate flights following the shutdown of airspace over Dubai.