Proteas Stranded in India: ICC Explains Travel Chaos After Men's T20 World Cup Amid Gulf Conflict

• The South African cricket team has been unable to leave India for over a week following their semi-final exit from the 2026 T20 World Cup
• Travel delays affecting the Proteas and West Indies have sparked criticism and rumours of preferential treatment for other teams
• The ICC insists the disruptions are due to regional airspace restrictions linked to the Gulf crisis, and not influenced by favouritism or logistics mismanagement

The South African cricket team is still stuck in India after participating in the just-ended ICC Men's T20 World Cup, as they struggle to depart back home due to ongoing airspace restrictions caused by the Gulf conflict that has affected most parts of the Middle East and Asia.

The Proteas, who lost their semi-final match against the New Zealand national cricket team last week on 4 March 2026, have been stranded in India for days and are only expected to leave on Wednesday, 11 March 2026, at night, one week later. The International Cricket Council has come under fire for the way it has handled the situation.

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There have been reports that countries like the England cricket team had their flights sorted and that their players arrived back home last Saturday after their semi-final exit. South Africa and the West Indies cricket team are the teams still waiting to fly home.

The ICC has since dismissed those rumours and accusations of favouritism towards other countries.

The International Cricket Council said that it understood players, coaches, support staff, and their families who had completed their ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 campaigns were anxious to return home, and that their inability to do so was a source of genuine frustration shared by the ICC.

The council explained that the delay was the direct result of the ongoing crisis across the Gulf region, which had caused widespread and continuing disruption to international air travel, including airspace closures, missile warnings, re-routing constraints, and the cancellation or rescheduling of both commercial and charter flights at short notice. These circumstances were entirely outside the ICC's control and had made every travel solution significantly more complex and time-consuming than under normal conditions.

The ICC added that it had been continuously engaged with airlines, charter operators, airport authorities, ground handlers, and government stakeholders across multiple jurisdictions to secure safe homeward travel for all affected groups as quickly as possible, and that this work remained ongoing.

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ICC responds to Proteas travel delays after T20 World Cup

The International Cricket Council added that under the current arrangements, the South African contingent was expected to begin departing for South Africa on Wednesday night, with all members likely to leave within the next 36 hours.

It also said that nine members of the West Indies contingent were already travelling to the Caribbean, while the remaining 16 had been booked on flights scheduled to depart India within the next 24 hours. The governing body noted that further updates would be provided once additional travel arrangements were confirmed.

ICC denies favouritism claims in travel arrangements

The Proteas were initially supposed to have left India on Tuesday 10 March. The ICC denied suggestions that the travel decisions were influenced by factors other than safety, feasibility and welfare.

“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,” the ICC said.

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The already dejected players would likely have been further frustrated after failing to shake off the “chokers” tag and missing the chance to replicate the success of the Test side, which won the ICC World Test Championship.

Proteas legend sued for R3.3 million

Briefly News previously reported that former South African cricket star Albie Morkel is facing legal action after being sued for R3.3 million by the liquidators of companies allegedly operating a Ponzi scheme in South Africa.

Morkel invested R350,000 in IPG Main Sales, one of two companies run by Pretoria businessman Nico le Roux. Court papers state that he received 10 payments totalling R3.6 million

Source: Briefly News