Stranded Indian Cricket Team and Officials to Return to New Delhi: The Indian cricket team, captained by Rohit Sharma and victorious in the T20 World Cup, is expected to return home on Wednesday night (IST). The team had been stuck in Barbados for the past two days owing to Hurricane Beryl, a category 4 storm that forced the island to close its airport. It looks like the closure is about to end. Prime Minister Mia Mottley of Barbados stated that she anticipates the airport being operational within the “next six to 12 hours.” She said that on Tuesday at around four in the morning (IST).
In a thrilling final at the Kensington Oval, India defeated South Africa by seven runs on Saturday, June 29, ending a 13-year wait for a World Cup victory. Ever since, everyone from the Indian cricket players and their families to the support personnel and BCCI executives, such secretary Jay Shah, has been waiting impatiently for the hurricane to pass and the airports to open.
“That’s what we’re aiming for later today. Overseeing relief efforts on the ground, Mottley told PTI, “I don’t want to speak in advance of it, but I’ve literally been in touch with the airport personnel and they’re doing their last checks now and we want to resume to normal operations as a matter of urgency.”
Many folks who were scheduled to leave last night, late, today, or early tomorrow morning are still here. And we want to make sure that we can help those people, so I would expect the airport to open in the next six to twelve hours,” she stated.
The approximately 70-person Indian contingent will depart on a charter flight if the Barbados airport is operational by 4-5 p.m. on Tuesday (local time).
According to a source, the group is scheduled to depart Bridgetown on Wednesday at 7.45 p.m. (IST) and arrive in Delhi at 6 p.m. (local time). Prime Minister Narendra Modi would later congratulate the players, however the exact time of the ceremony is still pending.
After this lengthy delay, the BCCI is considering taking a charter aeroplane on a direct route to India instead of the original plan, which called for travelling to India via the United States. But that has its own set of difficulties. There are reportedly no charter planes in the Caribbean that can hold up to 70 passengers, according to media sources. One will need to be flown from the US by BCCI.
Unsettling storm in Barbados
On Monday, Barbados and neighbouring islands were battered by storms and wind that might be fatal. With a population of about three lakh, the nation has been under lockdown since Sunday night.
“(We have) been making efforts to guarantee the safety of Barbados residents as well as all guests, naturally, who come for the World Cup of cricket. The fact that the storm avoided landfall was a great blessing.
The hurricane was about 80 miles south of us, thus the amount of damage on land was minimal. However, as you can see, there has been significant damage to coastal assets, infrastructure, and Mottley stated.
