The Indian cricket team, led by Rohit Sharma, is finally set to return home after winning the T20 World Cup. The team was stranded in Barbados due to Hurricane Beryl, a powerful Category 4 hurricane, which forced the island to close its airport.
On Saturday, June 29, India won the T20 World Cup by defeating South Africa by seven runs in a thrilling final at the Kensington Oval. This victory ended a 13-year-long wait for a World Cup title for India.
After their victory, the Indian players, support staff, their families, and BCCI officials, including secretary Jay Shah, were stuck in Barbados because the hurricane caused the airport to shut down completely. They have been anxiously waiting for the airport to reopen so they can return home.
Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley announced around 4 am on Tuesday that the airport is expected to reopen in the next six to twelve hours. She mentioned that the airport personnel are conducting their final checks and hope to resume normal operations soon. Prime Minister Mottley said, “We are working towards reopening the airport later today. We want to ensure that people who were supposed to leave last night, today, or tomorrow morning can do so.”
If the airport becomes functional by 4-5 pm on Tuesday, the Indian cricket team and their entourage, nearly 70 people in total, will leave on a charter flight. They are expected to depart from Bridgetown at 6 pm and arrive in Delhi on Wednesday at 7:45 pm. The team is eagerly waiting to celebrate their victory back home. Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to felicitate the players, although the details of the event are yet to be finalized. Initially, the plan was to travel via the United States, but due to the delay, the BCCI is considering a direct charter flight to India. However, this has its own challenges as the Caribbean islands do not have a charter aircraft that can accommodate the entire group. The BCCI may need to arrange a flight from the US. The Indian cricket team and their fans are looking forward to their return and the celebrations that will follow.