New Delhi, February 28 Veteran Bangladeshi wicketkeeper-batsman Mushfiqur Rahim is stranded in Jeddah while returning from his Umrah pilgrimage, as US strikes on Iran have disrupted flight services in the region.
The US and Israel launched a major offensive on Iran on Saturday, with American President Donald Trump calling on the Iranian public to overthrow the Islamic leadership that has ruled the nation since 1979.
The military strikes have led to the closure of airspace in the Gulf region and caused disruption to several flights, including Emirates and Air India.
"...I came to Mecca for the Umrah pilgrimage a couple of days ago…I have completed my pilgrimage and am heading back to Bangladesh via Dubai (Emirates) today," he wrote on his Facebook page.
"...we flew this morning from Jeddah to Dubai via EK 0806, but unfortunately, due to the conflict between the USA, ISRAEL, and IRAN, all flights have been diverted to Jeddah, and now I am at the Jeddah airport along with thousands of other passengers…when and how will we be able to reach Dhaka along with other Bangladeshi people?"
Air India has cancelled all its flights to and from the Gulf region, mainly to Abu Dhabi, Dammam, Doha, Dubai, Jeddah, Muscat, Riyadh, and Tel Aviv, Israel, the airline said in a statement posted on 'X'.
The 38-year-old Rahim has already retired from ODI and T20I cricket. He has scored 7,795 runs in 274 ODIs with nine centuries and 49 fifties.
