Sir Clive sympathises with stranded WI players

GEORGETOWN, Guyana (CMC):

Former West Indies captain Sir Clive Lloyd has expressed sympathy to members of the West Indies team, who have been stranded in India for the past week.

The regional team was scheduled to leave the subcontinent after being eliminated from the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup on March 1, but has been unable to do so due to the ongoing crisis in West Asia that has resulted in international airspace restrictions.

According to a report by ESPNcricinfo, the Windies along with South Africa are now scheduled to depart early on Tuesday, following reports that the England team left Mumbai on Saturday evening for London.

In an interview on i95.5 FM, Sir Clive said it was a frightening scenario for the players to be in.

He said while it was up to the International Cricket Council (ICC) to resolve the situation, he suggested that regional governments may have to come together to devise a plan to get the team home if the ICC fails in its efforts.

“Well, I presume that they should be dealing with the people that invited them there and find out the best way to get home, because you don’t want to be in harm’s way, you want to get home to your family as quickly as possible, and if other teams have gone home then why are you still there.

“Surely they should be able to charter a flight and get the players home. You have to look after your players; safety is important. Most of the guys are married, have kids, and so on, so they would be worried. They don’t want to have that situation,” Sir Clive said.

“It is a bad look for the West Indies, because if everybody is going home and you’re the only team left there, you would think that something is wrong. Is it that they’re short of cash? It means that the governments should get involved and get people home.”