New Delhi: Zimbabwe head coach Justin Sammons said the team’s travel plans remain uncertain after their 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup campaign came to an end with a five-wicket loss to South Africa in their last Super Eights clash at the Arun Jaitley Stadium.
Amid the situation in the Middle East cities like Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Doha, Bahrain and Kuwait, who have been witnessing strikes from the Iranian forces and airport operations being fully suspended, Zimbabwe’s players and coaches were originally scheduled to return home in three batches.
One of the squad members, Graeme Cremer, lives in Dubai with his wife Merna, who’s a pilot with the Emirates and their two children. It is understood that veteran leg-spinner Cremer has been quite distressed by the strikes happening in Dubai.
Speaking to reporters in the mixed zone interaction after the match ended, Sammons acknowledged the uncertainty over their plans to go back home, but insisted the players had maintained their focus on the game. “I would hope not. You still believe that the focus is on the game. But at the end of the day, I'm sure it's in the back of everyone's minds.
“Like you're going home, but how are you going home when you're going home? So it's still there, the conversations are happening in little groups, you can see that. But I still believe they had a full focus on the game when they stepped over that rope,” he said.
Asked if there was any clarity now on the plans to travel back home, Sammons said, “No, not that I've heard of. When we started the game, there wasn't anything and obviously now it's just been focused on the game, so I've not heard anything since.”
An ICC official told IANS that the match officials who will not be needed for the semi-final stages of the showpiece event could use Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia, as the layover destination instead of Dubai for catching their flights to their respective hometowns.
“But in terms of teams like Zimbabwe and how their travel schedule back home could be, clarity is yet to come. The ICC travel and logistics teams are still discussing with various stakeholders over the safe routes for their travel back home,” said the official.
It’s not just Zimbabwe who have been affected – Dr Mpho Rabada, the father of South Africa’s fast bowling spearhead Kagiso, was supposed to come to India for the Proteas semi-final against New Zealand in Kolkata.
But with the tension in Middle East, Dr Rabada confirmed on his ‘X’ account that his flight to India has been cancelled and that he will support the team from the comfort of the couch at his residence.
“#Iran #Israel #ICCT20WorldCup2026 My trip suspended due to the Middle East war. #PEACE&DIPLOMACY needed. UN, where are you????. In the meantime, I will support SA from the couch & pray for peace,” he wrote.
