A hurricane warning has delayed the return of the T20 World Cup-winning Indian cricket team, and left the entire Indian contingent, including the players, BCCI office-bearers and media persons stranded in Barbados.
Hurricane Beryl (Category 4) is expected to pass by Barbados on Sunday night local time with the centre of the storm approximately 80 miles off the south coast. India are currently staying at the Hilton Hotel. Beryl was initially classified as a category 3 storm on Sunday, with it expecting to have severe consequences once it makes landfall in Barbados.
According to a report in the Washington Post, Beryl is anticipated to hit the Windward Islands with winds exceeding 130 mph. Hurricane Warnings are in effect for Barbados, St. Lucia, St. Vincent & The Grenadines, Grenada, and Tobago island. The storm is projected to maintain its strength while traveling across the southeastern and central Caribbean Sea from late Monday through Wednesday, according to the Hurricane Center.
The World Cup winning Indian team was initially planning a charter straight home but the airport has been closed since Sunday evening. South Africa had left earlier on Sunday.
“Like you we are also stuck here. After the travel plans are clear, we will think about the felicitation,” BCCI secretary Jay Shah told reporters in Barbados.
India completed a dominant run in the T20 World Cup winning all their games before emerging victorious in the nail-biting title clash against South Africa by seven runs on Saturday.
With the team being stranded in Barbados, it could also jeopardise India’s next assignment in Zimbabwe as a few members of the World Cup-winning squad are expected to directly fly out to Harare for the brief T20I series, starting July 6.
Among the stranded ones, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sanju Samson and Shivam Dube were part of the World Cup squad while Rinku Singh and Khaleel Ahmed were among the reserves for the mega event.