While the Indian team celebrates its third T20 World Cup title and England’s squad is already back home, a diplomatic and logistical nightmare has left two major international teams- West Indies and South Africa, stranded in India for over a week.
The delay has prompted a scathing response from former England captain Michael Vaughan, who took to X (formerly Twitter) to question why England received preferential travel treatment while others remain stuck in India.
Michael Vaughan alleges bias
Vaughan’s viral post points out a glaring timeline discrepancy.
West Indies were Knocked out on March 1 but remain stranded in Kolkata even on March 10. South Africa got eliminated on March 4 but are still waiting to leave. However, England were ruled out on March 5, after both West Indies and Proteas but were on a charter flight home within 36 hours.
“This isn’t right… England got on a charter 36 hrs after being knocked out… as should be the case for all teams,” Vaughan wrote, echoing frustrations previously voiced by Proteas star Quinton de Kock and WI coach Daren Sammy.
The real reason: The Middle East airspace crisis
While the optics suggest bias, the ICC and Cricket West Indies (CWI) have clarified that the delay is due to international airspace restrictions.
Following recent military escalations between the US-Israel and Iran, several key flight corridors over the Gulf region have been closed or restricted for safety.
Flights from India to London (England’s route) can often bypass the most volatile zones by heading North/West. However, the route for WI and SA requires crossing the Arabian Sea and nearing Gulf airspace, which has seen massive cancellations. Moreover, A special charter flight scheduled for Tuesday morning was reportedly cancelled at the last minute due to a lack of overflight permits, leaving players like Shai Hope and David Miller stranded in their hotels.
Players considerong individual commercial flight booking option
As of Tuesday (March 10) afternoon, reports suggest that some players have begun booking individual commercial flights through alternative hubs like Singapore, while the bulk of the squads remain hopeful for a new charter window in the next 24 hours.
“During a high-level call earlier today (March 6) involving CWI (Cricket West Indies), ICC officials, a representative of team management, and a representative of the players, it was confirmed that a charter flight is currently being arranged for the team’s departure from India, with the expected departure scheduled within the next 24 hours,” CWI had earlier said in a statement.