West Indies and South Africa have at last been told when they can leave India. Both squads, still holed-up in Kolkata after their T20 World Cup exits, will board a charter in the small hours of Tuesday, 10 March. The aircraft heads first to Johannesburg; West Indies players then continue to Antigua.
The plan offers some relief after several false starts. Players were originally packed for a Sunday departure. That fell through once airlines began rerouting or cancelling services around closed airspace in West Asia. Confirmation of the new schedule did not land until Sunday afternoon, by which time frustration had already surfaced on social media. Daren Sammy posted a series of weary emojis on X, while Quinton de Kock and David Miller hinted at cabin fever on Instagram. Nobody has been especially thrilled, though both boards insist safety comes first.
A few South Africans are already on their way. Keshav Maharaj, Jason Smith and George Linde, plus the entire management staff, fly out on Sunday night to New Zealand, where a five-match T20I series begins on 15 March. The rest of the squad meets them later in Auckland.
West Indies have had the longest wait. They were knocked out in the Super Eights on 1 March; since then the players have trained when they can and watched the tournament drift towards its conclusion. Talk of a bespoke charter surfaced on Thursday but quickly unravelled. Cricket West Indies then released a statement designed to calm nerves:
“CWI has remained in constant dialogue with the players, team management, and the International Cricket Council since their last match against India,” the board said. “While the situation remains complex and fluid due to international airspace restrictions arising from security concerns in the Gulf region, CWI assures the public that every precaution is being taken to ensure the safe return of the team to the Caribbean.”
Privately, senior figures admit the episode has been awkward. One official conceded, half-joking, that “nobody packs a suitcase for nine days in Kolkata”. Yet both camps also appreciate the wider security backdrop and have thanked tournament organisers for keeping accommodation and practice facilities open.
England avoided the chaos altogether, flying straight from Mumbai to London on Saturday night. Zimbabwe managed a similar escape. Other teams still involved in the World Cup are keeping a close watch on the regional situation, though for now the tournament timetable remains unchanged.
In the end, then, an unexpected detour and a few extra nights in the hotel. Annoying, certainly, but hardly the biggest hazard in a global event played across multiple time-zones and political flashpoints. The main thing, as several players emphasised, is finally knowing when the wheels will leave the tarmac.
