DAVID MILLER has joined the likes of Quinton de Kock and Michael Vaughan in criticising the International Cricket Council (ICC), accusing the governing body of giving preferential treatment to England national cricket team in arranging their return home after their exit from the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026 in India.
Rising tensions involving Iran and the United States and Israel have led to airspace restrictions across parts of the Middle East, disrupting international travel and affecting flight schedules worldwide. As a result, several teams have faced delays in leaving India following their elimination from the tournament.
Both the West Indies cricket team and the South Africa national cricket team have remained in India awaiting flights home. The West Indies were knocked out after losing to the India national cricket team in the Super 8 stage on 1 March, while South Africa exited the tournament after a semi-final defeat to the New Zealand national cricket team on 4 March. England, meanwhile, were eliminated on 5 March after losing to India in the second semi-final.
According to a report by ESPNcricinfo, England were able to return home ahead of both South Africa and the West Indies after the ICC arranged a chartered flight.
“Funny that England gets eliminated after West Indies and South Africa and gets on a charter back home tonight. While West Indies and South Africa still wait for answers in Kolkata,” Miller commented on the Instagram post of ESPNcricinfo. The West Indies head coach Daren Sammy replied back saying, “@davidmillersa12 a little louder for those in the back to hear please sir.”
Miller further added, “@darensammy88 it doesn’t take @icc long to organise England charter. West Indies have been waiting for seven days for a charter and South Africa coming on 4 days now. And yet we still wait,” Miller said further.
Earlier, both de Kock and Vaughan had also questioned the ICC’s handling of the situation, raising concerns about why England were able to depart before the two teams that had been waiting longer to leave India.
However, the ICC has strongly denied any suggestion of favouritism.
An ICC spokesperson said, “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.”
“For instance, the England team and their staff were able to fly out from Mumbai without restriction due to the route’s airspace being unaffected and flights operating as usual. The ICC categorically refutes any claims of bias in this or other instances, and has been fully accommodating of specific demands and conditions put forth by teams,” ICC added.
