Zimbabwe’s T20 World Cup campaign ended on Sunday, but their journey home has been unexpectedly extended.
The team has become the first at the 2026 T20 World Cup to face travel disruption following the sudden closure of airspace across parts of West Asia. Originally scheduled to depart India on Monday, Zimbabwe will now remain in Delhi for the foreseeable future as tournament officials scramble to arrange alternative routes.
According to ESPNcricinfo, players and staff were set to travel in batches on Emirates flights from Delhi to Dubai, before connecting onward to Harare. With Dubai International Airport (DXB) serving as a critical transit hub for many teams, the airspace shutdown has forced a rethink of those plans. Zimbabwe are currently booked to stay at their Delhi hotel until March 4 while new arrangements are explored.
The disruption stems from escalating tensions in West Asia after missile exchanges involving the United States, Israel and Iran on Saturday morning. Several countries in the region subsequently closed their airspace, prompting airlines to cancel or reroute flights and affecting international travel far beyond the immediate conflict zone.
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The International Cricket Council (ICC) confirmed it had activated contingency measures. While stressing that the situation does not directly impact matches being played in India and Sri Lanka, the ICC acknowledged the heavy reliance of players, match officials, broadcasters and staff on Gulf transit hubs particularly Dubai, for post-tournament travel.
“The ICC Travel and Logistics team is actively working with major international carriers to identify and secure alternative routing options, including connections through European, South Asian and South-East Asian hubs,” the governing body said, adding that a dedicated travel support desk has been set up.
Zimbabwe head coach Justin Sammons admitted there was little clarity when asked about the team’s revised plans. “When we started the game there wasn’t anything. And now we’ve just been focused on the game, so I’ve not heard anything since,” he said.
Other teams have not all faced similar delays. Pakistan, knocked out after their final Super Eight fixture on Saturday, managed to return to Lahore from Colombo via a SriLankan Airlines flight, avoiding the heavily affected Gulf routes.
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