The Indian cricket team’s return journey to their homeland has been delayed owing to Hurricane Beryl.
The Rohit Sharma-led side defeated South Africa by seven runs in Barbados a day earlier to clinch their first major title since the 2013 Champions Trophy.
India, who lost in the finals of the World Test Championship and the 50-overs home World Cup last year, managed to book South Africa at 169/8, defeating the Proteas by seven runs.
This was South Africa’s first senior men’s final since the inaugural Champions Trophy in Bangladesh in 1998, having lost seven semi-finals, including a gut-wrenching defeat against Australia in the 1999 World Cup.
Following their victory, BCCI Secretary Jay Shah announced the hefty reward which will be shared between around 25 people including coaches and support staff.
While fans at home eagerly await the return of the newly-crowned champion side, India’s return plans were disrupted owing to hurricane Beryl.
Based on India’s travel plan, the side were slated to take the Emirates flight from New York via Dubai, but a Indian media say that the team will now travel back home on a charter flight.
The Indian contingent roughly consists 70 members, including support staff, families, and officials.
The US National Hurricane Center (NHC) warned residents that Beryl — currently churning in the Atlantic Ocean about 150 miles (240 kilometers) southeast of Barbados — would remain an “extremely dangerous Category 4 hurricane”.
“Life-threatening winds and storm surge expected to begin soon for portions of the Windward Islands,” the NHC said in its 11:00 pm (0300 GMT Monday) advisory.
A state of emergency has been declared in Tobago, the smaller of the two islands that make up Trinidad and Tobago, with schools ordered closed on Monday, top official Farley Augustine said.
Leave a Comment