Quinton de Kock criticised the ICC for giving England preferential treatment by arranging their immediate return home from the T20 World Cup, while South Africa faces a delayed departure due to safety concerns in Dubai.
Image: SAJJAD HUSSAIN / AFP
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has claimed the Proteas' failure to return home imminently from the T20 World Cup in India is “entirely outside the ICC's control".
Aiden Markram’s team exited the T20 World Cup at the semi-final stage last Wednesday, March 4, in Kolkata, but 29 members of the South African contingent remain in India seven days later. The ICC confirmed yesterday afternoon that four Proteas and their five family members had finally boarded flights and were en route to South Africa last night.
Independent Media understands fast bowlers Kagiso Rabada, Kwena Maphaka, and batter Tristan Stubbs are among them.
The ICC has stated the travel delay 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 staff, headed by Shukri Conrad, along with the rest of the team management, left Kolkata last Sunday for New Zealand. They, along with players Keshav Maharaj, George Linde, and Jason Smith, have all reached Mount Maunganui ahead of the first T20I against the Black Caps on Sunday.
The tension was, however, brewing within the Proteas camp back in Kolkata, with a number of players furious that England returned home shortly after losing their semi-final to India on March 5.
Independent Media understands that the players, alongside Cricket SA Director of Cricket Enoch Nkwe and CSA chief executive Pholetsi Moseki — who are also stuck in Kolkata — were involved in heated discussions after senior players David Miller and Quinton de Kock took to social media to voice their frustrations.
“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,” De Kock posted on his Instagram.
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, that the Proteas would “travel back to South Africa on Tuesday morning via a charter flight from Kolkata to Johannesburg”.
The ICC has 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.”
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, have 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.