ICC to arrange charter flights for England, Windies and South Africa to facilitate homebound travel

The ICC is all set to arrange charter flights to provide a comfortable and safe passage back home to West Indies, England, and South Africa, who are currently stuck in India due to the restrictions on air travel stemming from the ongoing kinetic conflict in the Gulf.

As per a report by ESPNcricinfo, the English T20 World Cup contingent will fly directly to London from Mumbai on Saturday, whereas West Indies and South Africa will board separate charter flights on Sunday.

The West Indian side will drop anchor in Johannesburg before flying to Antigua. Some of the South African players will head to New Zealand to participate in a five-match T20I series starting March 15 at the Bay Oval in Mount Maunganui.

Several West Indian players, including Shimron Hetmyer, Sherfane Rutherford, and head coach Daren Sammy, have been eagerly waiting for some clarity on their homebound travel, with Sammy, in particular, voicing his frustration over the delay on X.

At least an update, tell us something. Today tmw, next week. It’s been 5 days

— Daren Sammy (@darensammy88) March 5, 2026

West Indies have been stranded in Kolkata since March 1, after they were beaten by the defending champions, India, by five wickets in their last Super Eight encounter.

The Proteas are also in the same city following their nine-wicket "walloping" at the hands of the Kiwis on March 4.

Meanwhile, the summit clash of the ongoing ICC Men's T20 World Cup is set to be played between the Men in Blue and the Blackcaps on Sunday, March 8, at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. 

India came out on the right side of the outcome in their high-scoring semifinal against the two-time winners England at the Wankhede Stadium on March 5. The Suryakumar Yadav-led side pipped the Three Lions by merely seven runs in a run-fest that witnessed a total of 499 runs - the highest aggregate in a T20I involving the two teams.

It was the third consecutive semifinal meeting between the two teams in T20 World Cup history.