West Indies and South Africa players will finally begin their journey home from India on commercial flights after spending more than a week waiting for charter travel arrangements following their exit from the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup. The prolonged delay occurred due to disruptions caused by the ongoing crisis in West Asia, which affected airspace availability and aviation regulations.

Cricket West Indies (CWI) confirmed that arrangements had been made for players and support staff to return home on commercial flights after repeated attempts by the International Cricket Council (ICC) to organise a charter flight were unsuccessful. Some members of the West Indies squad have already departed, while the remaining players and staff were scheduled to leave India on March 10 and March 11.

The West Indies team had been stranded in Kolkata since March 1 after being eliminated from the T20 World Cup. Initially, both the West Indies and South Africa squads were expected to travel home together on a charter flight arranged by the ICC. However, the plan faced multiple delays as aviation restrictions linked to the geopolitical tensions in West Asia forced changes to flight routes and refuelling permissions.

According to CWI, the team waited nine days in India for the charter arrangements to be finalised. The organisation eventually decided that continuing to wait was no longer practical, especially considering the well-being and safety of the players and coaching staff. As a result, they worked alongside the ICC and other partners to secure commercial flights for the squad.

South Africa, who were knocked out of the tournament on March 4, will also depart India using commercial travel. The ICC confirmed that South African players would begin leaving from Wednesday night, with all members of the squad expected to exit the country within 36 hours.

The originally scheduled charter flight had been planned to depart from Kolkata at 2:30am on March 10, with a stop in Johannesburg before continuing to Antigua. However, the ICC informed both teams that the flight had been cancelled due to operational restrictions. Later attempts to organise another charter also failed after airports at the intended destinations issued notices preventing ad-hoc charter flights from refuelling until further notice.

The travel complications left players and coaching staff from both teams frustrated, with several individuals expressing their concerns on social media about the uncertainty surrounding their return journey. Despite the challenges, arrangements have now been finalised to ensure that players and support staff can travel safely back to their respective countries.

The situation highlights how global geopolitical tensions can have unexpected impacts on international sporting events, including logistics and travel plans. With the commercial flights now arranged, both the West Indies and South Africa teams will finally conclude their extended stay in India after their World Cup campaigns came to an end.