They're home: India's T20 world champs arrive in Delhi; fans brave rain to welcome players
New Delhi (PTI): Exuberant fans followed their cricketing heroes despite monsoon showers and heavy security deployment as the T20 World Cup-winning Indian team returned to a euphoric reception that included every element of a lively party, here on Thursday.
Hundreds of supporters, holding placards congratulating their favourites and waving the national flag, braved the inclement weather to wait outside the airport for the victorious side, which defeated South Africa by seven runs in the final in Bridgetown on Saturday last week.
"We have waited for this moment for the past 13 years. The team has made us proud by winning the World Cup," a fan, who claimed to have been waiting since 4:30am in the morning said, referring to India's last World Cup triumph which came back in 2011.
The side was unable to head back home immediately after the title win due to a shutdown forced by hurricane Beryl in Barbados. They were cocooned in their hotel before the BCCI secretary Jay Shah made arrangements for a special charter flight.
The Air India special charter flight AIC24WC -- Air India Champions 24 World Cup -- which left Barbados around 4:50am local time on Wednesday arrived in Delhi at 6am (IST) on Thursday after a 16-hour non-stop journey.
Heavy security was deployed to keep the crowd in check at the Indira Gandhi International airport but that did little to dampen the spirits as fans cheered enthusiastically holding up posters of star batter Virat Kohli, skipper Rohit Sharma and outgoing head coach Rahul Dravid.
Two buses were stationed outside the T3 Terminal to ferry the players to ITC Maurya Sheraton, where they were greeted by dhol and traditional Bhangra dancers.
Most of them, including skipper Rohit Sharma, all-rounder Hardik Pandya, Suryakumar Yadav and Rishabh Pant, shook a leg with the assembled dancers, giving them a memory of a lifetime.
Even the on-duty security personnel had smiles on their faces as the players let their hair down after the long journey, shook hands with everyone who wanted to and moved into their rooms after cutting a cake that was kept ready for them.
All of this unfolded amid expected media frenzy. A brief while later, they left to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi at his residence, continuing a hectic schedule that awaits them through the day.
Earlier, at the airport, the players trickled out in ones and twos after completing immigration formalities.
Tired but excited, they acknowledged the waiting fans by waving at them and flashing warm smiles.
Suryakumar, who took the sensational match-winning catch of David Miller in the final, was the most animated in responding to the cheering.
Pant, who returned to international cricket at the just-concluded event after a life-threatening car accident, saluted the gathered crowd, while pacer Mohammed Siraj blew flying kisses in their direction.
Rohit and Player of the Final Kohli, both of whom retired from T20Is at the end of India's campaign, were among the last to come out of the VIP exit.
Rohit raised the coveted trophy for the fans to catch a glimpse before boarding the bus. Kohli, on his part, gave a thumbs up to acknowledge the support.
In their excitement to see their heroes in person, some fans claimed that they had been waiting outside the airport since last night.
"We have been here since last night. It was very important for us to win this World Cup after losing the ODI World Cup last year," a group of fans said.
The squad won the country its second T20 world title, ending an 11-year wait for an ICC trophy, on Saturday. India's previous ICC title was in 2013 when it won the Champions Trophy under Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
Its earlier World Cup titles came in 1983 (ODI), 2007 (T20) and 2011 (ODI).
After meeting the Prime Minister, the players will fly to Mumbai to participate in an open bus victory parade followed by a felicitation ceremony at the Wankhede Stadium.
BCCI secretary Jay Shah and Rohit had posted on social media on Wednesday, urging fans to turn up in large numbers to show their support for the side.
It would be a special moment for the 37-year-old Rohit, who is a Mumbaikar and a huge fan favourite in the city.
A similar road show was held in Mumbai 17 years ago when Dhoni's team had beaten arch-rivals Pakistan in the final of the inaugural 2007 World T20 in South Africa.
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Aviation regulator DGCA imposes Rs 10 lakh fine on Akasa Air
Mumbai, Dec 24: Aviation regulator DGCA has slapped a Rs 10 lakh penalty on Akasa Air for failing to provide compensation on time to some passengers who were denied boarding at the Bangalore airport in September, according to a source.
In recent months, the more than two-and-a-half-year-old airline has come under the scanner of the regulator for certain alleged violations. Earlier this month, some pilots had also flagged concerns about training at the carrier, which has termed the allegations as baseless.
The latest action by the DGCA pertains to the denial of boarding of seven passengers who had booked a flight from Bangalore to Pune on September 6. The aircraft, which was to operate the flight, was grounded on account of foreign object damage and the replacement aircraft had nine non-operational seats as a result of which seven passengers were denied boarded, the source told PTI on Tuesday.
Later, the passengers were moved to an Indigo flight with a scheduled departure time of 2240 hours which was more than one hour of the scheduled departure time of the actual Akasa flight.
The source said that no compensation was paid to the passengers which was non-compliance with DGCA norms.
In an order dated December 23, the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) said Akasa Air initiated the process of providing compensation to the passengers concerned only after the regulator issued a show cause notice, as per the source.
The watchdog had given a Deficiency Reporting Form (DRF) to Akasa Air and the airline was asked to submit its response, including the root cause for the deficiency and the corrective action taken.
The source noted that in response, the airline justified the denial of boarding of the seven passengers due to unserviceable seats and that an alternate flight was arranged without any compensation.
DGCA has imposed a penalty of Rs 10 lakh on the airline, citing that the corrective action could have been initiated before the closure of the DRF, the source said.
An airline spokesperson on Tuesday said it has received an order from the DGCA.
"We continue to work closely with the DGCA to address this matter and enhance our protocols as required by the regulator," the spokesperson said in a statement.
In December alone, the airline has been served at least two show cause notices by the regulator.
On December 16, DGCA issued a show cause notice to Akasa Air for violation of norms related to the airline's operations manual and on December 9, a show cause notice was served to an airline maintenance engineer for poor (maintenance) standards and certification.
Akasa Air, which currently has a fleet of 26 planes, faced another headwind last week when some pilots flagged concerns about safety and training practices.
In a letter dated December 11 to Civil Aviation Minister K Rammohan Naidu, they had also sought an independent investigation into Akasa Air's management practices, training method and safety standards.
Among other issues, the letter alleged that the airline's claims of maintaining the highest safety standards are misleading.
Akasa Air on December 12 termed the allegations as baseless and untrue and that they do not represent the views of the airline pilots.
