Zimbabwe have become the first team at the T20 World Cup to be affected by the closure of air spaces in West Asia, and will remain in India for the foreseeable future after their final match against South Africa on Sunday.

West Indies have also been forced to delay their departure from India*, due to “security threats posed by military action in the Gulf region”, CWI announced on Monday.

“CWI is working closely with the ICC, relevant governmental authorities and airline partners to secure the earliest possible safe travel arrangements for the squad and support staff,” the board said in a release. “The safety and wellbeing of our players, coaches, and officials remain our highest priority.

“The team is currently accommodated in India and remains safe and well. We continue to monitor the situation closely and will provide further updates as confirmed travel arrangements are finalised.”

Tournament organisers have been exploring alternative routes to get teams home as they finish their campaigns at the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka. ESPNcricinfo understands that the Zimbabwe contingent was due to return home in batches, with some leaving as early as 4.30am on Monday morning and the rest to follow later in the day. They were booked on Emirates flights, which would take them from Delhi to Dubai and then on to Harare.

While it is understood that other airlines and routes are being considered, Zimbabwe are booked to stay at their Delhi hotel until March 4.

“No, not that I’ve heard of,” Zimbabwe’s coach Justin Sammons said when asked if there was clarity over the team’s travel plans. “When we started the game there wasn’t anything. And now we’ve just been focused on the game, so I’ve not heard anything since.”

All of Pakistan’s squad members from the T20 World Cup have been fined PKR 5 million (US$ 18,000 approx.) each by the PCB following their underwhelming campaign. Pakistan were eliminated from the tournament following the Super Eight stage, missing out on the semi-finals of an ICC men’s event for the fourth successive time – the first such instance in Pakistan’s history.

ESPNcricinfo has learnt that the fines are not for disciplinary reasons, but specifically for what the board deems poor performance at the event. They were imposed immediately following Pakistan’s match against India in the group stages, where a meek showing resulted in a 61-run defeat. They were further told the fines may end up being waived off if Pakistan reached the tournament semi-finals.

Pakistan did get to the second round, thus avoiding a third straight first-round exit, but ran into trouble in the Super Eight group after a washout against New Zealand was followed by defeat to England. New Zealand’s crushing win over Sri Lanka left them relying on other results and a huge victory over Sri Lanka to sneak into the last four. However, their winagainst Sri Lanka was much too narrow to prevent an early exit.

The PCB has come down hard on players in the past, though sanctions have generally been framed as disciplinary. ESPNcricinfo has learned there were no disciplinary issues within the team throughout the tournament, and the fines have been levied specifically for the quality of their on-field performances. That makes the sanctions handed out by the PCB particularly rare, and potentially unprecedented.

The current PCB administration, though, does have form for imposing punishments in the wake of disappointments at major tournaments. Five months earlier, following a narrow defeat to India in the Asia Cup final, the PCB had briefly suspended all No-Objection Certificates (NOCs) issued to players that would have allowed them to take part in T20 leagues through the winter. That suspension, though, was lifted soon after as some of the top players headed to Australia for the BBL.

While the fines will be imposed on all players, Pakistan did have players who enjoyed individual success at the tournament. Sahibzada Farhan broke the record for most runs at a T20 World Cup, and became the only player to score two hundreds at the same event.

[Cricinfo]

New Iranian strikes have been reported on a major gas plant in Qatar and in Saudi Arabia, where an  oil refinery fire is “under control”

The price of gas on international markets has risen sharply –  at one point up 42%.

The US and Israel struck Iran on Saturday, killing the country’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. The Israeli military has launched new strikes on Tehran, but the US defense secretary says there will not be “endless war”.

In Kuwait, several US fighter planes have crashed,  in what the US military says was “an apparent friendly fire incident” – one plane plummeting to the ground was caught on film.

Meanwhile, the US says a fourth member of its military was killed in Iran’s initial attacks. – it did not say where

The Lebanese health ministry says Israeli attacks in Beirut and southern Lebanon killed at least 31 people – Israel says it was responding to Hezbollah attacks

And in Cyprus, two drones heading for a UK base were intercepted, after an earlier attack on Sunday.

[BBC]