Frustrated players say they were left in the dark for days about their trip, while England left in two days.
Posted on March 11, 2026
Cricket’s governing body rejected suggestions of unequal treatment after the West Indies and South Africa teams were stranded in India for more than a week following their exit from the T20 World Cup, while England flew out in less than two days.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has been accused of giving preferential treatment to one team over the other two amid travel chaos resulting from airspace closures and diverted flights due to the war in the Middle East.
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However, the ICC said Wednesday that it “rejects any suggestion that these decisions have been driven by anything other than safety, viability and well-being.”
“We understand that the players, coaches, support staff and their families who have completed their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 campaigns are eager to return home,” he said in a statement.
Cricket West Indies said on Tuesday its team had waited nine days for a charter flight that was “repeatedly” delayed, calling the uncertainty “increasingly distressing.”
West Indies players were leaving India on commercial flights in batches 10 days after their scheduled departure, prompting frustrated players to express their thoughts in social media posts.
The ICC said nine West Indies players and staff were already traveling to the Caribbean, with the remaining 16 booked flights that would leave India within 24 hours.
Indian media reported that a charter flight for the West Indies and South Africa Twenty20 World Cup teams scheduled to fly to Johannesburg before continuing to Antigua was canceled earlier on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, South Africa, which has been stranded in India since March 4, will begin flying home on Wednesday and the entire contingent will depart in the next 36 hours, the ICC said.
England flew home less than two days after being beaten in the semi-finals, prompting criticism of the ICC from the South African and West Indies camps.
West Indies head coach Darren Sammy began expressing his frustration on social media on the fifth day since his team’s exit from the T20 World Cup.
“I just want to go home,” he wrote on X, followed by another tweet requesting an update after being in the dark for five days.
Three days after South Africa were eliminated in the first semi-final, their players Quinton De Kock and David Miller said the team had not heard from the ICC about their exit, while England, who were eliminated a day later in the second semi-final, had already left.
“England are leaving before us somehow?! It’s strange how different teams have more strength than others,” De Kock wrote in an Instagram story.
Commenting on a post announcing England’s departure, Miller said: “It doesn’t take long for the ICC to organize England’s charter. WI have been waiting for 7 days for a charter and SA will arrive within 4 days. And yet we are still waiting.”
The ICC said the criticism was “incorrect” and that there was no comparison between the agreements for South Africa and the West Indies and those made for England, “which arose from different circumstances, route options and different travel conditions”.
“Throughout this period, the ICC’s overriding priority has been the safety and well-being of all those affected,” the sport’s world governing body said.
“We will not move people until we are satisfied that the travel solution in place is safe and that commitment will not change.”
