T20 World Champion Team India arrives home, PM Modi and the Nation welcomes them

Prime Minister Narendra Modi hosted the Indian Cricket Team, the T20 World Cup 2024 Champions at his residence on Thursday morning. The PM chatted, laughed and posed for a photograph with the entire team along with the T20 World Cup Trophy.  The Men in Blue won the prestigious T20 World Cup trophy for the second time, ending an 11 year wait for an ICC Trophy, defeating South Africa by seven runs in Barbados on June 29.

“An excellent meeting with our Champions!” said the Prime Minister after the ceremony. Notably, the Prime Minister had congratulated the Men in Blue for their World Cup over a phone call after the final last Saturday.  The Indian team landed at the Delhi Airport around 6 in the morning following which the team headed straight to ITC Maurya Hotel, where they received a grand welcome with a special cake.

At around 1:00 PM, the Indian team left PM Modi's residence for the Delhi airport. The players flew to Mumbai at 2pm to participate in an open bus victory parade starting at 5pm followed by a felicitation ceremony at the Wankhede Stadium. A similar road show was held in Mumbai 17 years ago when the Indian team had defeated arch-rivals Pakistan in the final of the inaugural 2007 World T20 in South Africa.

The team was unable to head back home immediately after the title win due to a shutdown forced by hurricane Beryl in Barbados. The flight back home was organised by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah which departed on July 2 carrying board officials and members of the media contingent along with the players.