Indian cricket team remains stranded in Barbados due to hurricane

Bridgetown (Barbados), July 1

The victorious Indian cricket team remains stranded in Barbados after a Category 4 hurricane hit the Caribbean islands here in the wee hours of Monday, delaying its departure back home by at least another day.

The Rohit Sharma-led side has stayed put in a five-star hotel since its triumph over South Africa in the T20 World Cup final here on Saturday.

As per the forecast, life-threatening winds and storm lashed Barbados and nearby islands on Monday. The country, with a population of close to three lakh, has been in a lockdown since Sunday evening.

The main international airport is shut until further notice with water and electricity supply also getting disrupted.

“Like you people, we are also stuck here. First we need to see how to get the players and everyone out of here safely and then we will think about the felicitation upon arrival in India,” said BCCI secretary Jay Shah, who got here ahead of the big final.

The squad, along with top BCCI officials including Jay Shah, was supposed to leave for India via a charter flight on Monday but it was not possible due to the closure of the airport. BCCI is also trying to get the travelling Indian media out of the hurricane-hit region.

“There was a charter flight we were trying for Monday but the airport is shut so that option is gone. We are in touch with multiple charter operators but it all depends on the airport operations. As per the current state of affairs, no plane can land or take off.

“The plan is to fly directly to India with a refuelling stop in the US or Europe. We are in touch with airport officials. The airport is expected to remain shut till Tuesday afternoon. If the weather improves significantly, then it might open earlier. The wind speeds have to come down for the flight operations to start. You can’t really fight with nature. We need to wait and see,” a source said.