2 months ago
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The ICC connected Wednesday (March 11, 2026) expressed sympathy for the international players stranded successful India aft the T20 World Cup but lambasted "uninformed and unhelpful" suggestions that "anything different than safety" is driving the question plans that person been thrown haywire by the West Asia conflict.
The war, which began with the American and Israeli bombing of Iran past month, has led to closure of the aerial abstraction implicit Gulf, leaving formation schedules successful chaos.
The ICC said it empathises with the stranded players, specifically from South Africa and the West Indies, but "safety, feasibility and welfare" of the teams is being cautiously considered portion drafting up alternate routes.
Giving details of the question schedule, the ICC said the South African contingent volition statesman departing for location connected Wednesday nighttime and each the members are expected to permission wrong the adjacent 36 hours.
Nine West Indies players person already left, portion the remaining 16 person been booked connected commercialized flights departing India wrong the adjacent 24 hours, said the ICC.
This was aft their charter formation scheduled to instrumentality disconnected from Kolkata was cancelled owed to logistical issues.
The ICC drew disapproval from erstwhile England skipper Michael Vaughan and South African prima David Miller insinuated that England players were fixed amended question arrangements arsenic they were capable to permission wrong a time of their semifinal ouster. Before this, West Indies manager Darren Sammy had expressed vexation astatine the deficiency of updates from the satellite body.
The ICC deed backmost without naming anyone specifically.
"The ICC rejects immoderate proposition that these decisions person been driven by thing different than safety, feasibility and welfare. Suggestions different crossed a assortment of media platforms from radical uninformed of the concern are arsenic unhelpful arsenic they are incorrect," said cricket's satellite governing body.
"There is nary nexus betwixt arrangements made successful the cases of South Africa and the West Indies and those made antecedently for England oregon immoderate different nation, which arose from abstracted circumstances, routing options and antithetic question conditions," it added.
West Indies and South Africa played their last games successful Kolkata connected March 1 and March 4 respectively. The ICC's hose spouse is Emirates and they are incapable to run owed to shutdown of the Dubai airspace.
"We recognize that players, coaches, enactment unit and their families who person completed their ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2026 campaigns are anxious to instrumentality home.
"That they person not yet been capable to bash truthful is simply a root of genuine frustration, and the International Cricket Council shares that frustration," the satellite assemblage said.
"The hold is the nonstop effect of the ongoing situation crossed the Gulf region, which has caused wide and continuing disruption to planetary aerial travel, including airspace closures, rocket warnings, re-routing constraints, arsenic good arsenic the cancellation and rescheduling of some commercialized and charter flights astatine abbreviated notice," it added.
The ICC said owed to the existent situation, which is extracurricular its control, each question solution has go importantly much "complex and time-consuming than nether mean circumstances."
The ICC said it is continuing to liaise with circuit operators and airlines to guarantee that each players scope location safely.
"Throughout this period, the ICC's overriding precedence has been the information and payment of everyone affected, including players travelling with spouses and young children. We volition not determination radical until we are satisfied that the question solution successful spot is safe, and that committedness volition not change," it said.
The ICC besides urged the respective cricket boards and players to stay diligent arsenic it works to find the champion imaginable solutions amid the evolving concern successful in West Asia.
"Our teams are moving astir the timepiece and stay successful changeless interaction with squad managers arsenic circumstances proceed to develop. We volition proceed to supply updates arsenic the concern evolves."
