Cricket West Indies (CWI) has confirmed all of its T20 World Cup squad members have reached the archipelago nation following a lengthy delay in India.
The Caribbean team played its last game against eventual champions India on March 1, but due to the war in the Middle East and West Asia, they couldn’t fly back the very next day. Airspace operations around the world have been affected by the ongoing war.
As a result, the West Indies were stuck in Kolkata for several days after their match at the Eden Gardens. They finally flew out earlier this week. South Africa was another team stuck in India following their defeat at the hands of New Zealand on March 4. They too departed earlier this week.
Michael Vaughan went hard at the ICC
The whole thing created a lot of controversy. Former England captain Michael Vaughan accused the International Cricket Council (ICC) of bias, citing the English team’s example. The English team left India the very next day after their defeat on March 5. Vaughan suggested the ICC was more concerned about the big cricket boards. The ICC refuted those claims shortly after.
West Indies head coach Daren Sammy was particularly frustrated at the development, and he often let his opinion be known on X. “Just wanna go home” was one of his posts that drew a lot of attention.
Anyway, CWI released a small release on Saturday to confirm that the ordeal of the players was over, and it thanked the ICC unequivocally. “Cricket West Indies wishes to inform that, as of today, Saturday, 14 March 2026, all players and members of the Team Management Unit (TMU) who were part of the West Indies Men’s squad at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in India have returned home safely.
“Following the previously outlined challenges relating to cancellations of chartered flights coordinated by the International Cricket Council (ICC), commercial travel was successfully secured for the members of the squad earlier this week. The final group of players and support staff completed their journeys over the past several days and have now safely arrived at their respective destinations.
“Cricket West Indies extends its sincere appreciation to the ICC, regional cricket boards, and other stakeholders who assisted in facilitating the safe return of the team. We also thank West Indies fans and the wider cricketing community for their concern and well-wishes.
“The well-being and safety of our players and staff remain paramount, and we are grateful that the matter has now been brought to a safe and satisfactory conclusion,” the release read.
The West Indies had had a good T20 World Cup until they were beaten by South Africa and India back-to-back in the Super 8s.
