War on Iran: I just wanna go home, says Windies head coach Darren Sammy

The International Cricket Council (ICC) is currently faced with a major logistical challenge — rejigging travel plans of teams returning home from India in the face of the spiralling West Asia crisis. West Indies, for instance, has been stranded in Kolkata since losing its last Super 8 game of the T20 World Cup to India on Sunday.

Windies head coach Darren Sammy gave vent to their mounting frustration on his social media handle. ‘’I just wanna go home,’’ Sammy posted on X on Wednesday, capturing the growing anxiety of cricketers caught in an unprecedented travel crisis. ‘’At least an update, tell us something. Today, tomorrow, next week. It’s been 5 days,’’ he also posted.

Having gone unbeaten in the group stages of the World Cup, the West Indies looked like one of the top contenders for the title but key defeats to South Africa and India resulted in its elimination.

The Zimbabwe squad, which was holed up in the team hotel in Delhi since last week, is finally homebound via Addis Ababa after its original travel plan via Dubai had to be cancelled.

The closure of Dubai airport and West Asian airspace has severely disrupted international flight schedules. US and Israeli strikes on Iran, followed by retaliation from Tehran, have led to thousands of flight cancellations across major transit hubs.

While the ICC had issued a release earlier in the week about working on alternate travel plans, Cricket West Indies (CWI) said: ''Cricket West Indies wishes to advise that the departure of the West Indies senior men's team from India, following their exit from the ICC Men's T20 World Cup, has been delayed due to international airspace restrictions.

"These restrictions are a direct result of the security threats posed by military action in the Gulf Region, which has impacted several international flight routes and required airlines to adjust scheduled services for safety reasons."

Zimbabwe Cricket likewise issued a statement saying: ‘’The squad will return to Harare in batches. The first group of players departed India on Wednesday while the final group is scheduled to leave on Friday afternoon."

The next homebound team is South Africa, who lost a one-sided semi-final to New Zealand at Kolkata's Eden Gardens on Wednesday evening.

The ICC had initially informed the West Indies team management that efforts were underway to arrange a charter flight to London before they could continue their journey back to the Caribbean. The tentative plan suggested a mid-week departure from India, though no confirmed schedule was provided — and this explains the mounting frustration within the team.

Meanwhile, England could face a similar situation were it to lose its semi-final against India. New Zealand, which is already in the final, have the safer option of flying through South Asia once its campaign is over.