Rohit Sharma-led Indian cricket team finally managed to leave Barbados in a special flight arranged by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Wednesday.
The Indian cricket team finally managed to leave Barbados in a special flight arranged by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on Wednesday. Rohit Sharma’s men were to leave from the island nation on Sunday after winning the T20 World Cup 2024 but a hurricane threat forced them to remain placed in their hotel for the next three days. The special charted flight arranged by BCCI secretary Jay Shah will also be carrying members of Indian media who went to cover the tournament but got stranded due to the hurricane Beryl.
Just hours after their T20 WC win, Men in Blue were forced to stay confined inside their hotel rooms as the hurricane made landfall in Barbados on Sunday and a curfew was imposed for the safety of people. Electricity and water supply were also affected.
An Air India special charter flight named AIC24WC — Air India Champions 24 World Cup — will be bringing back the Indian squad, its support staff, the players’ families and some board officials and Indian media, who have been stranded here for the past three days due to Hurricane Beryl.
The Rohit Sharma-led side won the title after pulling off a thrilling seven-run win over South Africa in the final on Saturday. The Grantley Adams International Airport resumed its operations on Tuesday.
Earlier, the Indian team was scheduled to leave around 6 pm local time on July 2 and arrive at 7.45pm (IST) on Wednesday. The players are set to be felicitated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi but the schedule of that event has not yet been finalised. Hurricane Beryl has now become a Category 4 storm moving down from Category 5 and is headed towards Jamaica.