The Indian team, which has been trapped in Bridgetown, Barbados since winning the World Cup on June 29, will leave the Caribbean island on Tuesday night. Members of the squad, support personnel, and their families have been detained on the island for the past two days owing to flight cancellations caused by Hurricane Beryl, which struck this region of the world with great force on Monday. As a precaution, the entire island was shut down for two days, forcing the players to remain at their hotel.
The BCCI managers have been seeking to organise a private jet/charter flight to carry the players home, but have encountered difficulties owing to the airport's shutdown. Grantley Adams International Airport (GAIA) is still closed as of this writing (Tuesday AM local time). However, it is likely to reopen later today, with aviation travel to resume.
Local media stated that the airport was untouched 'during the passage of Hurricane Beryl.' While officials at Grantley Adams International Airport were examining damage to the facilities in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl immediately following Minister of Home Affairs Wilfred Abrahams' all-clear on Monday afternoon, the early report indicates that damage was minimal.
'We just need to make sure that when we do our assessment, everything is clean and safe so that we can welcome our passengers because, as you can appreciate, after the all-clear is given by the officials, which it has, then our team needs to come in and do their assessment so that everyone else can have their operations run as smoothly as possible,' an airport representative told Barbados Today.
The Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) has announced to Cricbuzz that Lakshmipathy Balaji has been selected as the state's coach for the 2017 domestic season. However, it remains unclear whether he will take the post. He is currently signed to the TNCA.
Balaji refused to discuss his future intentions, although reports say the former Indian bowler has got an offer from overseas.
Balaji worked as Tamil Nadu's assistant coach last season under Sulakshan Kulkarni, who quit following the team's semifinal defeat in the Ranji Trophy. Balaji recently visited the United States as a television analyst for the World Cup.
Meanwhile, BCCI secretary Jay Shah informed media in Barbados that the India team's new head coach and the rest of the support staff will take over from the Sri Lanka series, which is slated for later this month. The NCA staff, led by VVS Laxman, is overseeing India's trip to Zimbabwe.
The South African team, who lost to India in the final, was able to leave Barbados before Hurricane Beryl struck the island. In actuality, only three players - Keshav Maharaj, Ottneil Baartman, and Lungi Ngidi - were scheduled to return home following the final, while the remainder had departed Barbados to compete in the Major League Cricket (MLC) or Lanka Premier League (LPL).
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