New Delhi: The long wait of the West Indies cricket team to leave India after getting knocked out of the T20 World Cup 2026 from the Super 8s is finally getting over as the Caribbean side will depart from India along with England and South Africa over the weekend on a special charter plane arranged by the International Cricket Council (ICC) due to middle east travel disruptions.
According to a report by ESPNcricinfo, two-time champions England will depart from Mumbai on Saturday evening, while 2012 and 2016 T20 World Cup champions West Indies, along with South Africa, will take a different charter flight from Kolkata.
The West Indies’ departure from Kolkata, where they lost to India by five wickets in their last Super Eights clash on March 1, was delayed by a week due to the Middle East region being under airspace restrictions following the USA and Israeli strikes on Iran.
South Africa, who lost to New Zealand in the semi-finals on Wednesday, are also stranded in Kolkata, while England are staying in Mumbai after losing to India in the second semi-final on Thursday.
“England will fly direct to London. West Indies, along with South Africa, will go to Johannesburg first and then to Antigua; both teams are still awaiting confirmation on when exactly they will depart, but the understanding is that it will be on Sunday,” the report added.
On Saturday, West Indies head coach Daren Sammy had posted “Day 6” on his X account, indicating the number of days they had been stranded in Kolkata after their final match. While their spinner, Akeal Hosein, demanded help from the footballer Cristiano Ronaldo to take the team home.
“At this point, I’m better off asking Cristiano to send the jet and come rescue me yes,” he wrote on X on Friday.
Earlier Zimbabwe Cricket team were also stranded in New Delhi for the same reason, but they departed on Thursday after the ICC arranged alternative travel for them to go back to Harare via Addis Ababa.
(IANS)
