Proteas David Miller has led the discussions surrounding travel arrangements with CSA's management.
Image: Sajjad HUSSAIN / AFP
The International Cricket Council have claimed the Proteas failure to return home from the T20 World Cup in India as yet is “entirely outside the ICC's control”.
Aiden Markram’s Proteas exited the T20 World Cup at the semi-final stage last Wednesday, March 4 in Kolkata, but the majority of the team is still in India seven days later. The ICC have stated this is due to the “ongoing crisis across the Gulf region, which has caused widespread and continuing disruption to international air travel, including airspace closures, missile warnings, re-routing constraints, as well as the cancellation and rescheduling of both commercial and charter flights at short notice.”
The Proteas coaching and management staff alongside Keshav Maharaj, Kwena Maphaka and Jason Smith departed India for New Zealand for the five-match T20I series against the Black Caps last Sunday already and have reached their destination.
But the rest of the team are still in India with the ICC confirming on Wednesday morning that “on current arrangements”, the Proteas will begin departing for South Africa on Wednesday evening with all members expected to have departed within the next 36 hours.
Independent Media understands that the Proteas are furious that England returned home shortly after losing their semi-final to India on March 5.
The remaining players in Kolkata have been locked into heated discussions with Cricket SA Director of Cricket Enoch Nkwe and CSA chief executive Pholetsi Moseki, who are also stuck in Kolkata along with the players.
Senior players David Miller and Quinton de Kock have voiced their frustrations on social media with De Kock stating:
“Funny @icc, we have heard nothing! Meanwhile, England are leaving before us somehow? @westindies and @proteasmencsa are just in the dark! Strange how different teams have more pull than others.”
Former England captain Michael Vaughan also accused the ICC of favouring certain teams.
"All teams in this situation should be treated the same. Just because you are more powerful at the ICC table shouldn't count," he said.
Independent Media contacted Nkwe in Kolkata, who stated the players are “extremely” frustrated, “which is understandable”, particularly after CSA issued a notification on Sunday evening, March 8, that the Proteas would “travel back to South Africa on Tuesday morning via a charter flight from Kolkata to Johannesburg”.
The ICC have responded by strongly rejecting any suggestion that teams’ travel “have been driven by anything other than safety, feasibility and welfare. Suggestions otherwise across a variety of media platforms from people uninformed of the situation are as unhelpful as they are incorrect.”
CSA Director of Cricket Enoch Nkwe,
Image: Backpagepix
They have furthermore stated that “there is no link between arrangements made in the cases of South Africa and the West Indies and those made previously for England or any other nation, which arose from separate circumstances, routing options and different travel conditions.”
The ICC also affirmed that it is “continuously engaging with airlines, charter operators, airport authorities, ground handlers, and government stakeholders across multiple jurisdictions to secure safe homeward travel for all affected groups as quickly as possible. That work remains ongoing.”
The West Indies, who exited the T20 World Cup on March 1, has also been severely affected with Cricket West Indies (CWI) stating that some members of the squad have already made personal arrangements to fly back home.
The ICC confirmed that nine members of the Windies contingent are already travelling to the Caribbean, while the remaining 16 are booked on flights departing India within the next 24 hours.