South Africa, West Indies to Finally Leave Kolkata Amidst West Asia Conflict
South Africa and West Indies will finally leave Kolkata after days of uncertainty. The two teams had been stranded because of the conflict situation in West Asia, which disrupted major flight routes. A special charter flight has now been arranged for the players. Both teams are scheduled to depart late Monday night. They are expected to reach home on Tuesday. South Africa captain Aiden Markram and West Indies captain Shai Hope will travel on the same flight along with their teammates. West Indies were eliminated from the T20 World Cup last Sunday. South Africa exited the tournament earlier after losing the semi-final on Wednesday. Since then, both teams had been staying at a hotel in Kolkata as flights through Dubai and Doha were unavailable due to airspace restrictions. The delay triggered frustration among players. West Indies head coach Daren Sammy and South African players Quinton de Kock and David Miller voiced their concerns on social media. The International Cricket Council (ICC) then stepped in to find an alternative solution. Officials arranged a chartered aircraft for the teams. However, the flight initially did not receive operational clearance. The required permission has now been granted. Both teams will now travel on the same aircraft. The flight will first land in Johannesburg, where the South African players will disembark. It will then continue to Antigua with the West Indies squad. Not all South African players remained in India. George Linde, Jason Smith and Keshav Maharaj, along with members of the support staff, left for New Zealand on Sunday. South Africa are scheduled to play a five-match T20I series there starting 15th March. England faced a similar situation earlier in the week. Harry Brook’s team was stuck in Mumbai for two days after losing to India in the semi-final. However, England eventually flew back to London on Saturday evening. The ICC has faced criticism over the handling of travel arrangements. Many questioned why England’s return was organised quickly while South Africa and West Indies had to wait longer. Zimbabwe also faced travel problems. Their team remained stranded in Delhi for three days due to the same airspace restrictions.
Kumble Lauds Samson, Says ‘Samson is a combination of Kohli and Rohit’
Anil Kumble, the veteran player, lauded Sanju Samson with the ultimate compliment, noting that Samson played like a mix of Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli. Samson’s return to the playing XI line-up led to a consecutive strike of record-setting performances. Although his momentum was uncertain at the beginning of the tournament, he played a crucial role in the knockout stage with three consecutive fifties. Across five innings, Samson piled up 321 runs, breaking Virat Kohli’s record for the most runs scored by an Indian in a single T20 World Cup. Anil Kumble noted that Samson showed composure similar to Kohli during the crucial stages of the innings, while also attacking the bowlers aggressively in the powerplay, much like Rohit Sharma. Kumble, while talking to ESPNcricinfo, stated, “If you look at the previous World Cup in 2024, it had Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma. Both are great players, very difficult to replace them. I think Samson is a combination of Kohli and Rohit, in a sense. When it required a little bit of Kohli, where you just plan and ensure that you don’t lose wickets. And then whenever you need to accelerate, in the powerplay, you want to take on the bowlers [like Rohit].” Widespread praise came to Samson as Faf du Plessis also praised his gameplan during the tournament. He highlighted the batter’s mindset to stick to his dedicated way to face the opponent. “What you can see is a guy who is in form and really true to the way that he wants to play. It looks like I am watching the previous innings again. It’s just the game plan on display,” remarked du Plessis. Additionally, Samson hit 24 overhead boundaries, setting a record for the most ever sixes by a batter in a World Cup edition.
Gambhir Stresses Trophies Over Milestones After India’s T20 World Cup Triumph
India head coach Gautam Gambhir once again underlined his belief that trophies matter more than individual milestones after India’s emphatic win in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final. India defeated New Zealand by 96 runs to lift their third T20 World Cup title. While the victory sparked celebrations across the country, Gambhir focused on the bigger philosophy behind the team’s approach. According to the former India opener, the focus in team sports should always be on winning trophies rather than chasing personal records. “I think my simple philosophy with Surya has always been that milestones don’t matter. It’s the trophies that matter,” Gambhir said, referring to India’s T20 captain Suryakumar Yadav. “For too long in Indian cricket, we’ve spoken about milestones. And I hope, till I’m there, we’re not going to talk about milestones.” Gambhir made it clear that he wants the culture around the team to move away from celebrating individual numbers. “Stop celebrating milestones, celebrate trophies,” he said. “That is going to be important because the bigger purpose of a team sport is to be winning trophies, not scoring individual runs. It has never mattered to me, and it will never matter to me.” The head coach said captain Suryakumar Yadav shares the same vision about the team’s priorities. “I have been very fortunate that Surya and I were on the same page, especially on this front,” Gambhir added. Gambhir pointed to Sanju Samson’s performances in the final stages of the tournament as an example of the team-first mentality. Samson played crucial knocks in the knockout matches, including a stunning unbeaten 97 in a must-win game. “You can see in the last three games, what Sanju did,” Gambhir said. “Imagine if you would have been playing for a milestone, probably we wouldn’t have got 250.” The India coach also addressed criticism that often surfaces on social media during major tournaments. Gambhir said his focus remains firmly on the players inside the dressing room. “My accountability is not towards any social media,” he said. “My accountability is towards those 30 people sitting in the dressing room.” Gambhir added that trust plays a key role in team selection and management. “You pick the team on trust and faith. You don’t pick on hope,” he explained. “And when you pick someone on trust and faith, you don’t lose that after four or five games.” India’s dominant T20 World Cup victory reflected that philosophy. The team delivered strong performances across departments and secured the trophy without focusing on personal milestones.
NZ Captain Santner Shares; India ‘Outplayed Us’ in Final
New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner admitted that India were the better side in the final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026. The hosts delivered a dominant performance in front of a packed home crowd. Speaking at the post-match presentation, Santner praised his team’s run to the final. However, he acknowledged that India controlled the game on the night. “Proud of the boys to make it this far. Obviously, we had some challenges throughout, but at each stage we put up a good fight. Today, we got outplayed by a great team in front of a great crowd. To see a big sea of blue, obviously India were home favourites,” Santner said. The New Zealand skipper also spoke about the pressure of playing a World Cup at home. He said India handled it well throughout the tournament. “Playing a home World Cup comes with a lot of pressure. But yeah, SKY (Suryakumar Yadav) and the boys should be very, very proud. Different guys stood up at different stages. In the Super Eight and semi-finals, we put up a good fight, but tonight we were obviously outplayed,” he added. India built their victory on a powerful batting display. New Zealand had won the toss and asked India to bat first. Sanju Samson led the charge with 89 off 46 balls. His innings included five fours and eight sixes. Abhishek Sharma added a quick 52 off 21 balls, hitting six fours and three sixes. Ishan Kishan scored 54 from 25 deliveries. He struck four boundaries and four sixes. Shivam Dube provided the late flourish. He remained unbeaten on 26 from just eight balls. India finished with a massive total of 255 for 5 in 20 overs. New Zealand struggled in the chase. Tim Seifert fought hard and scored 52 off 26 balls. His innings included two fours and five sixes. But the target proved too big. India’s bowlers stayed in control. Axar Patel took three wickets for 27 runs. Jasprit Bumrah led the attack with four wickets for 15 runs. India sealed a convincing win. The victory gave them their third T20 World Cup title. They also became the first team to defend the trophy. It was another historic moment for the Men in Blue.
