Michael Vaughan again slams ICC over West Indies, South Africa flight delays: ‘They are stranded…’
Michael Vaughan criticised the delay of the West Indies and South Africa teams in India after their T20 World Cup exits, contrasting it with England's quick chartered flight home. Vaughan emphasised the need for equal treatment of all teams, regardless of their ICC standing.
Former England captain Michael Vaughan has once again criticised the ICC after West Indies and South Africa were left stranded in India. Both teams were knocked out of the T20 World Cup days ago, but have been unable to secure flights home.
The tournament ended on Sunday. However, the West Indies have been stuck since 1 March, and South Africa has been waiting since their semi-final loss. In a post on X, Vaughan pointed out that England received a chartered flight just 36 hours after their loss to India.
“Just to let you all know that the West Indies got knocked out of the World Cup on March 1st .. it’s now March 9th .. they are still stranded in Kolkata .. SA are in the same position .. !!!!!!!!!!!! This isn’t right … England got on a charter 36 hrs after being knocked out .. as should be the case for all teams (sic),” Vaughan wrote in a post on X.
Notably, this is not the first time that the former England captain has raised the issue of the West Indies and South Africa teams being stuck in India.
In an earlier post, he wrote, “.. That’s where the power is all wrong .. All teams in this situation should be treated the same .. just because you are more powerful at the ICC table shouldn’t count”.
ICC on travel bias:
The International Cricket Council (ICC) recently responded to Vaughan's statement, stating that the departure of teams depends on airspace availability, aircraft routing permissions and visa requirements.
In a statement to the BBC, an ICC spokesperson said, “Decisions on departure sequencing are being driven solely by airspace availability, aircraft routing permissions, visa requirements and operational safety considerations.”
“Any suggestion that teams have been prioritised based on anything other than these constraints is incorrect,” they added.
According to an ESPN report, West Indies and South Africa received clarity on their travel plans on Sunday. The two sides were reportedly told they will leave India in the early hours of Tuesday on a charter flight to Johannesburg, while the West Indies would travel to Antigua from there.
Three members of the South African squad, Keshav Maharaj, Jason Smith and George Linde, were scheduled to leave India for New Zealand on Sunday itself and head towards New Zealand, where South Africa will play a five-match T20I series starting from 15 March.
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