Indian contingent seen boarding a chartered flight to New Delhi after India won the T20 World Cup 2024, in Barbados, on July 3, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI

India men’s T20 World Cup-winning squad will have an extended celebrations in Delhi and Mumbai on July 4, upon its arrival from Barbados through a chartered flight.

Having been stuck in Barbados due to a hurricane, India’s contingent boarded a chartered flight on Wednesday afternoon. The Hindu understands that the squad will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a function in New Delhi on Thursday morning before boarding a chartered flight for Mumbai. 

An encore of the celebrations after the 2007 World T20 triumph has been planned, albeit on a smaller scale. The squad will display the trophy to the fans during a short kilometre-long symbolic open-top bus parade on the iconic Marine Drive. The parade is likely to start at the National Centre for Performing Arts and culminate at the Wankhede Stadium. 

The Wankhede Stadium will witness a function with the squad and the BCCI office-bearers in attendance. It is yet to be confirmed whether the doors of the Wankhede Stadium will be thrown open to the public. 

In 2007, the open-top bus parade started at the Mumbai airport and all through the 25-km stretch en route Wankhede Stadium, thousands of fans cheered for Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men.

Bridgetown (Barbados):

For the Afghanistan cricketers, it was a meatball-sized problem to fork through! The non-availability of halal meat, a must-have in their menu, in their Bridgetown hotel forced them to temporarily wear a chef’s apron.

For the Afghans, who descended to this beautiful seaside town for their T20 World Cup Super Eights match against India, it was a different experience after tasting the overflowing Indian hospitality during last year’s 50-over showpiece.

Halal meat is available in the Caribbean, but it is not certain that all hotels and restaurants will have it on their menu.

“Halal meat is not available in our hotel. Sometimes we cook on our own or sometimes we go out. In the last World Cup in India, everything was perfect. Halal beef is an issue here. We had it in St Lucia but it is not there at all venues. A friend arranged it for us and we cooked on our own,” a player told PTI.

India thumped Afghanistan by 47 runs at the Kensington Oval here on Thursday to make an ideal start to the Super 8 stage.

The scheduling of Super 8s is pretty intense with teams having to play three games in different countries with only one day for travel in between – a logistical nightmare in these islands with limited air connectivity.

Another member of the Afghanistan team said the nature of the Super-8 schedule has also impacted the preparations.

“There is uncertainty over flights and training schedule. We are often informed about it at the last minute. We understand that the organisers are doing their best considering logistical challenges, which are bigger in the Caribbean than anywhere else,” he said.

Afghanistan face Australia next in St Vincent on Saturday.

Indian Fans Flock To The Caribbean

The World Cup caravan has rolled from mainland America to the Caribbean but that has not diminished the support for the Indian team.

Though the Kensington Oval was half-empty for the India-Afghanistan clash, the majority of the people in the stands were wearing the blue jersey.

There were a couple of New Zealand and Pakistan fans though their teams had already bowed out of the tournament.

The proximity of the Caribbean to the USA and Canada have allowed the expat Indians to make the trip. Indians based in the UK have also taken the trans-Atlantic journey.

“I have come here from Toronto. There was no direct connectivity so I went to Miami and then came to Barbados. I have tickets for all India games, I just want one for the final here,” said a fan, Paresh.

Locals in the Caribbean locals are also involved in the frenzy. From the taxi driver to the front desk hotel manager, all are glued to the tournament and are backing the West Indies to win a record third title.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)