Indian Team's Departure Further Delayed; Expected To Reach New Delhi Thursday Morning

Indian team's departure from the Caribbean island of Barbados where they won the final of the T20 World Cup 2024 to lift the trophy has been further delayed as the charter flight supposed to carry them did not arrive on time. (More Cricket News)

An Air India special charter flight named AIC24WC -- Air India Champions 24 World Cup -- is set to bring back the Indian squad. The flight, which took off from New Jersey, USA on July 2, is expected to land in Barbados around 2 am local time, as per PTI.

Read More - IPL: BCCI To Meet Franchise Owners To Finalise Retention Policy Later This Month - Report

Alongside the players, their families, the support staff and some members of the BCCI will also be aboard the chartered flight.

All of them have been stranded in Barbados after hurricane Beryl forced an island-wide shutdown since Sunday.

The Indian team was scheduled to leave around 6 pm local time on July 2 and arrive at 7.45pm (IST) on Wednesday, July 3. However, the delay in flight has forced a change in plans.

If everything goes as per plan, the flight will take off from Grantley Adams International airport in Bridgetown at 4:30am (local time). It will take a 16-hour flying time to reach Delhi, where the team will land on Thursday at 6 am (IST).

The Bridgetown airport resumed its operations on Tuesday. Hurricane Beryl has now become a Category 4 storm moving down from Category 5 and is headed towards Jamaica.

India had won their first ICC trophy in over a decade last Saturday when they beat South Africa in a thrilling final of the T20 World Cup 2024. The match took place at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, the capital of Barbados and the team has been stuck in the island since then.

The players will also be felicitated by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The Indian media contingent will also travel with the team in the same flight.

(With PTI Inputs)

Read More - Team India's T20I Schedule Till 2026 World Cup: How Many Matches Will They Play - Check Full Schedule