Heroes' Homecoming Amid Rousing Welcome: T20 World Champions Land in New Delhi After Historic Win

Following their T20 World Cup triumph, the Indian cricket team arrived in New Delhi by a special chartered flight arranged by the BCCI. The team will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi before proceeding to Mumbai for a victory parade from NCPA to Wankhede Stadium, where they will be honoured by top BCCI officials, writes Meenakshi Rao.

New Delhi: The T20 World Cup champions landed at Delhi’s T3 airport from Barbados at 6 am on July 4, five days after winning the coveted trophy, and quickly went into another round of breakneck celebratory round of activities.

The special Air India charter AIC24WC, unofficially being called the Champions Flight, took 16.5 hours to get the team from the hurricane-hit island to Delhi where a nation had waited for five days to celebrate their team’s big T20 win after 17 years.

#WATCH | Delhi: Supporters gather at the airport to welcome Men's Indian Cricket Team.

Team India has arrived at Delhi Airport after winning the #T20WorldCup2024 trophy. pic.twitter.com/XYB1N2CdbE

— ANI (@ANI) July 4, 2024

This was the first ever direct flight to have operated from the Caribbean to India. It was also a first for Air India which does not fly in the Caribbean sector.

The Delhi leg of activities for the team kickstarted with a cake-cutting ceremony at the airport’s immigration area.

After this, the team was taken straight to the ITC Maurya hotel to freshen up and rush out to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi before flying off to Mumbai the same day.

At Mumbai, too, the schedule is hectic with the victory procession awaiting the team members there. The BCCI has arranged for a 1.5 km road show in decorated open buses for the fans to greet the team.

The roadshow will start at Nariman Point in the evening around 5.30 pm and go up to the skipper Rohit Sharma’s home stadium, the Wankhede, where the players will have lunch and then finally, disperse for their respective homes.

🏆🇮🇳 Join us for the Victory Parade honouring Team India's World Cup win! Head to Marine Drive and Wankhede Stadium on July 4th from 5:00 pm onwards to celebrate with us! Save the date! #TeamIndia #Champions @BCCI @IPL pic.twitter.com/pxJoI8mRST

— Jay Shah (@JayShah) July 3, 2024

On the plane, the players used the time to recoup, catch up with sleep, take time out with travelling family members and then intermingle with media persons for photo sessions and general chitchat.

Thanks to the efforts of BCCI secretary Jay Shah, the Indian media accompanied the team on the charter after regular flights were cancelled due to the hurricane in Barbados.