The ICC Men's T20 World Cup ended on March 8 in Ahmedabad. India lifted the ICC trophy, the crowd went home and the tournament was over. For most teams that meant packing bags and heading back. For the South African and West Indian squads it meant another night in a Kolkata hotel waiting for an answer that kept not coming. That wait has gone on for nearly ten days. England lost their semi-final on Thursday March 5 and by Saturday March 7 they were on a plane home. Thirty six hours after going out of the tournament they were back in England. West Indies had been eliminated even earlier going out in the Super 8s the previous Sunday. South Africa lost their semi-final on Wednesday. Both teams were still in India. Both teams were still waiting. For a few days they said nothing publicly about it. Then they started talking. The social media posts that forced the ICC to respond Quinton de Kock went first. He posted on Instagram tagging the ICC and wrote what a lot of people in both camps were thinking. "Funny @icc, we have heard nothing. Meanwhile, England are leaving before us somehow. West Indies and Proteas are just in the dark. Strange how different teams have more pull than others." Short post. Landed loudly. David Miller followed with something harder to argue against. England were knocked out after both West Indies and South Africa and went home first. "Funny that England gets eliminated after WI and SA and gets on a charter back home tonight. While WI and SA still wait for answers in Kolkata," he wrote in the comments of an ESPNcricinfo post. It was not angry. It was factual and that made it more effective. PLAYERS WANT TO LEAVE INDIA ASAP. 🤯- Quinton de Kock and David Miller are absolutely furious with the ICC. pic.twitter.com/Wc9LmlChla — Sheri. (@CallMeSheri1_) March 7, 2026 Daren Sammy had been posting throughout. The West Indies head coach had been stuck in Kolkata for days and the frustration was easy to read. On Thursday he wrote "I just wanna go home. At least an update, tell us something." When Miller posted his comment Sammy replied straight away. "A lil louder for those in the back to hear please sir." I just wanna go home — Daren Sammy (@darensammy88) March 5, 2026 Michael Vaughan joined from the outside and did not hold back. "So England got knocked out on Thursday, get a charter home today. West Indies go out last Sunday and are still in Kolkata. South Africa in the same position. That's where the power is all wrong," he wrote on X. "All teams in this situation should be treated the same. Just because you are more powerful at the ICC table shouldn't count." Vaughan is English. The fact that he was taking the side of the stranded teams said something about how the whole thing looked from the outside. So England got knocked out on Thurs get a charter home today .. West Indies go out last Sunday and are still in Kolkata .. SA in the same position .. That’s where the power is all wrong .. All teams in this situation should be treated the same .. just because you are more… — Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) March 7, 2026 What the ICC said As per BBC, the ICC responded and their explanation came down to geography and logistics. England were in Mumbai and their route to London was not affected by the Middle East conflict. Airstrikes had shut down transit hubs like Dubai and Doha which are the main connection points between India and both South Africa and the Caribbean. West Indies and South Africa were in Kolkata and the routes they needed were the ones that had been closed. Getting large squads with complex visa requirements out of that specific location under emergency flight restrictions was not a simple thing to arrange. An ICC spokesperson said clearly: "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." The ICC also said: "The safety and well-being of players, support staff, officials, and our own workforce remain our absolute priority. The current disruption to multiple airspaces has created a highly complex and fast-moving logistical challenge. Our logistics and events teams have been working continuously with governments, aviation authorities, airlines and charter providers to secure safe travel options for all teams." The statement was detailed and it categorically denied bias. What it could not fully answer was why the communication with the players had been so poor throughout and why it took social media posts from de Kock, Miller and Sammy before the situation became a public conversation. Also READ: BCCI confirms NAMAN awards on March 15 with five ICC trophy-winning teams to be honoured The plan to get home As of Tuesday March 10 a joint charter flight is understood to have been arranged for both squads to leave Kolkata today. Nothing has been officially confirmed but the plan is for the two teams to travel together to Johannesburg first. From there the West Indies contingent is expected to connect to Antigua. After nearly ten days of hotels, unanswered questions and a public argument about power and fairness in world cricket the players are at least set to head home today if everything holds. Some of them may not be away for long. Several players from both squads have IPL commitments with pre-season camps starting between March 15 and March 18. Rovman Powell at KKR and Romario Shepherd at RCB could be back in India within days of landing at home. For them the ten days in Kolkata was the strange in-between period where one chapter of their cricket year had ended and the next one had not started yet. A World Cup final they did not reach, a flight home they could not board and an IPL season waiting on the other side of it all.