The International Cricket Council (ICC) has finally arranged charter flights for England, West Indies and South Africa cricketers to return to their respective countries, after they were stranded post T20 World Cup, due to the West Asia war. West Indies head coach Daren Sammy has made multiple posts on X (formerly Twitter) asking for an arrangement as they were kept in the dark.
Now, as reported by ESPNcricinfo, England players will leave India on Saturday evening after their seven-run defeat in the semi-final at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai. On the other hand, West Indies and South Africa are stranded in Kolkata and travel arrangement has been made for both teams but the details have not been shared. However, they will travel together to Johannesburg. From there, the Caribbeans will go to Antigua.
Meanwhile, not all the South Africa cricketers will travel with the squad. The likes of Keshav Maharaj, Jason Smith and George Linde will travel to New Zealand for the white-ball series.
India to play New Zealand in summit clash
After a win over England, India have qualified for the finals of the T20 World Cup 2026, which will be played at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. They will challenge New Zealand in the summit clash, who defeated South Africa at the Eden Gardens.
The openers Finn Allen and Tim Seifert wreaked havoc as the Proteas were left embarrassed, suffering a nine-wicket defeat. They were the only undefeated side in the tournament but failed to match New Zealand’s intent in the semis, resulting in their exit.
Now, India have never defeated New Zealand in T20 World Cups and on top of that, they have never won against the Kiwis in the final of an ICC event. In the Champions Trophy 2000 final, they defeated Sourav Ganguly’s India by four wickets, while in the 2021 World Test Championship final, New Zealand beat the Virat Kohli-led side by eight wickets. Thus, the hosts will be hoping to change history this time around, winning their third T20 World Cup.
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