The West Indies men’s team’s troubles at the ICC Cricket World Cup have extended far beyond the field of play, continuing long after their bid for a third title ended on Thursday, February 26. As of Monday, March 9, 11 days later, the Men in Maroon are stranded in Kolkata due to the sudden escalation of conflict in the Gulf region, specifically military strikes involving the US, Israel, and Iran. This crisis has led to severe restrictions on international airspace and the closure of key transit corridors.
Further compounding the nightmare, sources indicate that Daren Sammy and his team had received full assurance from International Cricket Council (ICC) officials and T20 World Cup organisers that they would be scheduled to leave India on Tuesday, March 10, at 2:30 AM India Time (Monday, 5 PM AST) via a special charter flight organised by the ICC.
The squad was to be joined by the South African team. The flight’s first stop would have been Johannesburg before heading to Antigua, where Cricket West Indies is headquartered. From there, squad members would have caught connecting flights to their respective home destinations.
However, St Lucia Times understands that this connection may no longer be possible due to visa restrictions. The ICC is now seeking to organise a commercial flight for the West Indies.
The situation has been taxing for all involved, not least the team’s Saint Lucian coach, Sammy. The Micoud native lamented the situation on March 5, stating via X:
“I just wanna go home”.
Sammy has since posted a follow-up tweet noting that the squad “got an update” and “that’s all WI wanted”.
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