Zimbabwe players celebrate after the wicket of South Africa captain Aiden Markram during the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup cricket match between Zimbabwe and South Africa, at the Arun Jaitley Stadium in New Delhi. (PTI photo)
TimesofIndia.com in New Delhi: Having already crashed out of the T20 World Cup semi-final race, Zimbabwe prepared for the dead rubber against South Africa in New Delhi on Sunday. As they retraced their steps on a hot Saturday afternoon the day before, their focus turned to their phones and news channels by the evening.After the air strikes launched by the United States and Israel on Iran and their counterattack on American military installations throughout the Gulf, it affected the airspace in the World Business Center in Dubai. Zimbabwe were scheduled to travel through that region on their way home after a positive tournament.“You still think the focus is on the game. At the end of the day, it’s on everyone’s mind. You know you’re going home, when you’re going home, how you’re going home, and you have the conversations in the groups.
“There has been no clarity on travel plans and focus on the game since then,” Zimbabwe coach Justin Simmons said after their five-goal loss to South Africa.As a result, Zimbabwe and their traveling fans are forced to look for alternative routes. Simmons revealed that he was scheduled to leave the team in three instalments, but there is no clarity regarding the current situation. One of the team’s players, Graeme Kramer, lives in Dubai. The team and its fans are considering the possibility of flying to the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, and then continuing their travels.
Meanwhile, South Africa still has more days to go in India. They will now travel to Kolkata for their semi-final match against New Zealand. However, the reality of the outside world is not lost on the Proteas.“Obviously it comes up in every conversation, so you can’t wish it away because it’s there. We just have to try to beat our team. So in the conversations, we’ve been able to put that aside,” South Africa coach Shukri Konrad said after the team maintained their unbeaten run.“And obviously our coach, in cooperation with the ICC, we firmly believe that all the right decisions will be taken. All our focus is on Kolkata and facing New Zealand on Wednesday,” he added.On Saturday, the Dubai-based International Criminal Court issued a statement explaining that it is monitoring developments in the situation. “The International Cricket Council (ICC) is closely monitoring the developing situation in the Middle East and has activated comprehensive contingency plans to protect the travel, logistics and well-being of all stakeholders associated with the 2026 Men’s T20 World Cup, which is currently taking place in India and Sri Lanka,” the statement read.“Although the crisis in the Middle East has no direct impact on the conduct of the tournament, the ICC acknowledges that a significant number of staff – including players, team management, match officials, broadcast teams and event staff – rely on Gulf hub airports, particularly Dubai (DXB), as key transit points to travel to their home countries after completing their commitments at the event.”As of Sunday, Indian airlines have canceled 350 international flights due to disruptions caused by the escalating conflict in the Gulf region.“In view of air restrictions arising out of geopolitical developments in the Middle East, a total of 350 flights operated by Indian domestic airlines have been canceled on 01.03.2026,” the Ministry of Civil Aviation said in a post on X at 1634 hours on Sunday.