ICC Breaks Silence on Travel Problems Facing Teams After T20 World Cup
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has responded to criticism about the travel problems that left several teams stuck in India after the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026.
For several days, players from the West Indies cricket team and the South Africa national cricket team were stranded in Kolkata after their tournaments ended. Their charter flights were cancelled and many international routes were affected because of ongoing military tensions in the Gulf region.
Earlier, players from the Zimbabwe national cricket team were also stuck before the ICC arranged a special charter flight to send them home. With players getting frustrated and former cricketers like Michael Vaughan and Quinton de Kock raising questions, the ICC released a detailed statement on Wednesday explaining why the travel delays happened.
According to the ICC, the travel complications are directly linked to the volatile situation in West Asia, which has caused widespread disruption to international aviation.
“We understand that players, coaches, support staff and their families who have completed their ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 campaigns are anxious to return home. That they have not yet been able to do so is a source of genuine frustration, and the International Cricket Council (ICC) shares that frustration,” the ICC said in a statement.
“The delay is the direct result of the ongoing crisis across the Gulf region, which has caused widespread and continuing disruption to international air travel, including airspace closures, missile warnings, re-routing constraints, as well as the cancellation and rescheduling of both commercial and charter flights at short notice.”
ICC explains travel chaos after T20 World Cup as teams remain stranded
Despite the challenges, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said that travel plans are now slowly being arranged for the teams affected, and players will gradually be able to return home.
“On current arrangements, the South Africa contingent will begin departing for South Africa tonight, with all members expected to have departed within the next 36 hours. Of the West Indies contingent, nine members are already travelling to the Caribbean, while the remaining 16 are booked on flights departing India within the next 24 hours.”
Earlier, the International Cricket Council (ICC) arranged commercial flights for players after a charter flight from Kolkata was cancelled because of logistical problems. The ICC also denied claims that some teams received special or preferential treatment compared to others.
“The ICC rejects any suggestion that these decisions have been driven by anything other than safety, feasibility and welfare. Suggestions otherwise across a variety of media platforms from people uninformed of the situation are as unhelpful as they are incorrect. There is no link between arrangements made in the cases of South Africa and the West Indies and those made previously for England or any other nation, which arose from separate circumstances, routing options and different travel conditions.”
