South Africa's Marco Jansen congratulates New Zealand's Finn Allen (R) after their win in the end of the 2026 ICC Men's T20 Cricket World Cup semi-final match between New Zealand and South Africa at the Eden Gardens in Kolkata on March 4, 2026. Picture: Dibyangshu SARKAR / AFP
Image: Dibyangshu SARKAR / AFP
While the Proteas were eliminated from the T20 World Cup on Wednesday last week, it will be nearly a week before they return to South Africa.
The Proteas will take a chartered flight from Kolkata to Johannesburg, arriving on Tuesday morning.
The reason, of course, is due to safety concerns in Dubai, which is the usual route South Africans travelling to or from India would likely take. The Dubai airport has already been the target of an Iranian attack with escalating tensions in the Middle East conflict.
It would have been a particularly unusual and possibly frustrating wait for the SA cricket team after being dumped out of the tournament mid-way through the week and then having to wait six days for a flight out.
Unlike when the Proteas won the World Test Championship (WTC) last year, the Proteas were greeted by hordes of fans at OR Tambo International as skipper Temba Bavuma and the rest of the team were treated to a hero’s welcome on their return.
On Tuesday, it will likely be a rather more sombre affair as the exact time of their arrival has not been communicated yet.
Leading up to their semi-final, South Africa had played five of their seven games in Ahmedabad. Two of their games were in Delhi, but their match against New Zealand was at Eden Gardens where they looked out of sorts from the start.
For New Zealand needing 170 for the win, Finn Allen’s blistering 100 off just 33 deliveries didn’t just swing the contest — it obliterated it. His calculated aggression dismantled South Africa’s hopes and ensured the chase was a formality rather than a contest.