T20 World Cup 2026: England, South Africa, West Indies To Leave India On Weekend By ICC-Arranged Charter Flights

T20 World Cup 2026: England, South Africa, and West Indies cricket teams are set to leave India this weekend on International Cricket Council (ICC) arranged charter flights due to West Asia's ongoing military conflict disrupting air travel.

England's team is expected to depart from Mumbai Saturday evening for London, while South Africa and West Indies will fly together from Kolkata, likely stopping in Johannesburg before heading to Antigua. Both teams are still awaiting confirmation on when exactly they will depart, but the understanding is that it will be on Sunday, ESPNcricinfo reported.

Some of the South African players, led by Keshav Maharaj, will be heading to New Zealand for a limited-overs tour starting March 15.

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South Africa and West Indies cricket teams are stuck in Kolkata after their T20 World Cup exits. South Africa lost to New Zealand in the semi-finals on March 4, while the West Indies were eliminated after a five-wicket defeat to India in the Super Eights on March 1.

The teams are waiting for charter flights arranged by the ICC due to airspace restrictions caused by the Middle East conflict.

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Earlier, West Indies coach Daren Sammy expressed his desire to go home amid the team's delayed departure from India due to international airspace restrictions arising from security concerns in the Gulf Region, owing to the ongoing Israel-Iran conflict in the region.

The two-time T20 World Cup-winning captain, in a simple four-word post on X, said, "I just wanna go home" on Thursday.
India is set to defend their title against New Zealand in the T20 World Cup final on Sunday in Ahmedabad, bringing an end to the tournament that began on February 7 in India and Sri Lanka.