New Delhi, Jul 4 (IANS): The victorious Indian team, who won the Men's T20 World Cup on June 29, have finally landed at the IGI Airport in New Delhi in the early hours of Thursday.
The Rohit Sharma-led side won the T20 World Cup for the second time at the Kensington Oval on Saturday after defeating South Africa by seven runs in a thrilling final. But their return to home travel plans were disrupted by hurricane Beryl, which left them stuck for three days.
The BCCI then arranged a special chartered Air India flight for the team named 'AIC24WC' (Air India Champions 24 World Cup). The Boeing 777 flight came from Newark, New Jersey and arrived at the Grantley Adams International airport in Bridgetown during the wee hours of Wednesday.
The special flight then took off from Bridgetown at 4:50am local time, which also had the Indian team support staff, the players' families, BCCI officials and 22 traveling media persons.
After landing in New Delhi, the T20 World Cup winning contingent will head to the ITC Maurya hotel and then have a felicitation meeting for breakfast with Prime Minister Narendra Modi at 7, Lok Kalyan Marg.
The winning Indian team is scheduled to land in Mumbai at 4pm, after taking off from New Delhi at 2pm. In Mumbai, the victorious team will board the open bus from the National Centre for Performing Arts (NPCA) and be in the victory parade from 5pm to 7pm.
The open bus victory parade will go through Marine Drive and conclude at the Wankhede Stadium, allowing for fans to have a glimpse of their favorite players who brought a major trophy home after 11 years. From 7 to 7:30pm, there will be a small function for the victorious Indian team to be felicitated at the Wankhede Stadium, following which players will disperse to the hotel.
The players, escorted by police and CISF officials, waved and smiled at their fans, who eagerly snapped photos and took distant selfies with their favorite stars.
Following their arrival, the team proceeded to their hotel -- ITC Maurya -- before heading to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi. After the meeting, they will return to the airport to board a special flight to Mumbai.
After reaching Mumbai airport, the team will move to the Wankhede Stadium. The BCCI has arranged for a 1 km victory parade from Nariman Point to Wankhede followed by a small ceremony at Wankhede Stadium.
It is at the iconic venue in Mumbai where BCCI secretary Jay Shah, who was present in Barbados for the final against South Africa on Saturday, will distribute the Rs 125 crore cash prize to the Indian team for winning their first ICC trophy in over a decade.
The Men in Blue were supposed to depart Barbados for New York on Monday morning before taking a connecting flight from Dubai for India a couple of days after winning the T20 World Cup for a second time.
However, the Indian cricketers were stuck on the island for three days due to Hurricane Beryl which swept through the Caribbean, and were only able to fly out of Barbados in the early hours of Wednesday via a charter flight named AIC24WC — Air India Champions 24 World Cup.