While Barbados’ Hurricane Beryl did delay the Indian cricket team’s return home after their victorious T20 World Cup 2024 campaign, this delay worked only in raising the excitement of the awaiting fans. The team finally touched down on Thursday, July 4, to a grand reception. On top of the one leading the celebrations was none other than Honourable Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself, as the latter hosted a special breakfast interactive session at his New Delhi residence to welcome the champions.
The atmosphere in the capital was electric as Rohit Sharma and his team were feted for their triumphant campaign. There’s been an engaging morning for PM Modi and the team that brought home the T20 World Cup trophy after 17 long years of wait. From candid moments with the Prime Minister and the players basking in their hard-earned victory to discussing top highlights of the journey, the morning was special.
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One of the memorable snippets in the interaction was when wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav was seen in a light-hearted banter with PM Modi. The players were sitting in a circle with Modi in the center. Modi light-heartedly asked Kuldeep about the post-match incident where Kuldeep had asked skipper Rohit Sharma to dance during the trophy presentation.
“Kuldeep, tumhari yeh himmat kaise hui ki tum captain ko nacha rahe ho?, how dare you make the captain dance?”, PM Modi quipped.
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Kuldeep replied smiling, “Captain ko maine nahi nachaaya. Yes, maine unko bola tha yeh karne ke liye jab unhone bola tha kuch naya karte hai, toh maine unko bataaya yeh kar sakte hai.par jaise maine bataaya waise kiya nahi unhone” (I didn’t make the captain dance. I just suggested it when he said let’s do something new. He didn’t do it exactly as I suggested).
The video of PM Modi’s interaction with Kuldeep can be seen here:
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After the lovely session with PM Modi, the Indian team left for Mumbai to continue the celebrations. The day included an open top bus parade from Marine Drive to the Wankhede Stadium where a grand felicitation ceremony was arranged. The ecstatic fans congested the street of Mumbai, and the stadium reverberated with chants and cheers as it welcomed their heroes. The victory parade and felicitation at Wankhede Stadium would add up to one of the memorable moments in the lifetime of the team and the cricket-loving city of Mumbai, celebrating India’s glorious win on the global platform.
