Post-Cup euphoria, team stranded on Caribbean island as Hurricane Beryl approaches; BCCI arranges charter flight

Barbados:In view of Beryl, the category 4 hurricane heading towards Barbados has taken the Indian cricket team by surprise.

With the airport closed until further notice and no flights in or out of the region, the team and all fans, BCCI officials and media persons are stuck on the island, where an emergency alert has been issued due to the expected flattening.

According to sources, the BCCI has been trying to get a charter plane to the island for a direct flight to Delhi so that the team can reach home safely.

Because the airport is closed, no plane will be able to land for the next 24 hours, or perhaps longer.

To get here, a charter must fly from the U.S., a five-and-a-half-hour flight. But with the oceanic depression whipping up with winds of up to 100 miles per hour and heavy rain expected for the next 15 hours, no flight will be taking to the skies to the Caribbean.

This means that the winning Indian team can leave on July 1 at the earliest, weather permitting.

Top BCCI officials, including secretary Jay Shah, are on the island awaiting a safe journey. However, the South African team was lucky to leave in the morning amid a flurry of activity at the airport.

Meanwhile, cricket fans are in a precarious situation with their flights canceled and airlines running out of seats until July 5.

Hotels, on the other hand, are not taking reservations for fear of the worst, as they do on the coast. The last flights from Air Canada, American Airlines, Caribbean Airlines, Virgin Atlantic and JetBlue left the island at 3:30 p.m. local time.

Furthermore, there is fear of an approaching hurricane.