India's T20 World Cup-winning cricket team could return home on Tuesday night after Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley said she expected the airport to be operational in the “next six to 12 hours”, ending the lockdown imposed by the Category 4 storm.
The Rohit Sharma-led team, his support team, several Indian Cricket Board officials and the players' families were stranded here for the last two days due to Cyclone Beryl. The team won the title on Saturday after beating South Africa by seven runs in the final.
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“We hope that will happen today, and we are working on it,” Motley, who is overseeing relief efforts on the ground, told the Press Trust of India. “I don’t want to talk about it in advance, but I have had concrete contact with the airport staff and they are working on it.” “The final checks are being carried out and we are looking forward to resuming normal operations as soon as possible.”
“There are several people who were planning to leave last night, today or tomorrow morning. We want to make sure that we can facilitate the travel of these people, which is why I estimate that the airport will be open within the next six to 12 hours,” he added.
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Life-threatening winds and storm surges hit Barbados and surrounding islands on Monday, as the country of about three million people went into lockdown on Sunday night.
“We are working to ensure the safety of everyone in Barbados, Barbadians and of course all visitors who come to watch the Cricket World Cup.
“The storm occurred 80 miles south of us, limiting the extent of damage to the coast. But as you can see, there was significant damage to beaches, infrastructure and coastal assets,” Motley said.
“It could have been a lot worse, but now it's time to recover and get clean.”
The chances of leaving Bridgetown are getting tighter as Motley revealed that “we have another storm coming on Wednesday.”
He hopes the Indian players, who have been in their hotel since winning the cup, will remain in good spirits despite the lockdown after ending an 11-year title drought.
“I'm sure even if the typhoon has passed, they will be in a very good mood and win like they did on Saturday. I think they will be floating in the air for a while,” he joked.
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