Team India World Cup celebration on 4 July LIVE Updates: The Indian cricket team made a grand return home on Thursday after pulling off what their billion-plus fans had been eagerly waiting for so long — winning their first ICC trophy in over a decade. After an unexpected delay in Barbados due to Hurricane Beryl, Team India arrived in Delhi at 6 AM IST.
The Rohit Sharma-led side finally managed to end the jinx by defeating South Africa in the final of the 2024 T20 World Cup that took place in the United States and the Caribbean across the month of June.
India thus have been crowned T20 world champions for the second time, having won the inaugural edition under MS Dhoni’s leadership in South Africa in 2007. The Men in Blue have also won the ODI World Cup twice (1983 and 2011) and the Champions Trophy as many times.
Batting icon Rohit also joined a select group of India captains with an ICC title that comprises Dhoni (one ODI World Cup, one T20 World Cup and one Champions Trophy), Kapil Dev (one ODI World Cup) and Sourav Ganguly (one Champions Trophy, shared with Sri Lanka).
Given India won an ICC event for the first time since Dhoni and Co defeated hosts England to win the 2013 Champions Trophy, the BCCI has left no stone unturned in rewarding Rohit and his men.
In addition to the cash prize that the Indian team is set to receive as tournament champions, the Indian board also announced a cash prize of Rs 125 crore that will be distributed among the players as well as head coach Rahul Dravid and his support staff along with the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee.
Team India will also meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday after landing in New Delhi and will depart for Mumbai on the same day, where they are set for an open-top bus parade — similar to the one the Dhoni-led team had received after their victory in the 2007 T20 World Cup.
The kilometre-long parade will conclude at the Wankhede Stadium, where the victorious Indian team will be felicitated by BCCI Secretary Jay Shah and President Roger Binny.
The Men in Blue were originally supposed to leave Barbados, where the final between India and South Africa took place at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, on 1 July. Their departure, however, was delayed due to Hurricane Beryl which has battered the Caribbean region.
India finally left Barbados for New Delhi via New York and Dubai in the early hours of Wednesday (afternoon in India) via a charter flight arranged by the BCCI.