Mumbai: It was on March 1 that the West Indies went down to Team India in a virtual quarterfinal at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens to be eliminated from the T20 World Cup.
Four days have elapsed since that agonising defeat, yet the entire West Indies contingent is still stuck in India, unable to return home amid the US and Israel’s war against Iran which has disrupted thousands of west-bound flights.
As the cricketers and support staff endure an anxious wait, head coach Daren Sammy’s post on social media attracted attention.
“I just wanna go home,” the former West Indies captain wrote on X on Thursday morning.
As netizens advised him to be patient amid the evolving situation in the Middle East, Sammy followed it up with another post in the afternoon where he sought an update.
“At least an update, tell us something. Today tmw, next week. It’s been 5 days,” he wrote.
Around 5 pm, Sammy informed that an update was made available.
“Got an update.🙏🏾🙏🏾🙏🏾 that’s all WI wanted,” he wrote.
As the team could not fly out on schedule due to international airspace restrictions, Cricket West Indies (CWI) confirmed that the departure of the senior men’s team from India had been delayed following their T20 World Cup exit.
The board stated that the players, coaches and officials were safe and being accommodated in India while revised travel arrangements were being worked out.
The wait seemed endless, hence Sammy made the impassioned plea.
The Zimbabwean squad has also been similarly affected. Having played their last Super Eight fixture on Sunday, the eliminated African team was stranded in Delhi. But the good news for them is that they are leaving in batches starting March 5.
