The International Cricket Council (ICC) is currently faced with a major logistical challenge — rejigging travel plans of teams returning home from India in the face of the spiralling West Asia crisis. West Indies, for instance, has been stranded in Kolkata since losing its last Super 8 game of the T20 World Cup to India on Sunday.
Windies head coach Darren Sammy gave vent to their mounting frustration on his social media handle. ‘’I just wanna go home,’’ Sammy posted on X on Wednesday, capturing the growing anxiety of cricketers caught in an unprecedented travel crisis. ‘’At least an update, tell us something. Today, tomorrow, next week. It’s been 5 days,’’ he also posted.
Having gone unbeaten in the group stages of the World Cup, the West Indies looked like one of the top contenders for the title but key defeats to South Africa and India resulted in its elimination.
The Zimbabwe squad, which was holed up in the team hotel in Delhi since last week, is finally homebound via Addis Ababa after its original travel plan via Dubai had to be cancelled.
The closure of Dubai airport and West Asian airspace has severely disrupted international flight schedules. US and Israeli strikes on Iran, followed by retaliation from Tehran, have led to thousands of flight cancellations across major transit hubs.
