Team India cricketers get a hero's welcome after historic Test series win in Australia

Rishabh Pant hit a delivery from Josh Hazlewood down the ground at The Gabba and it sparked celebrations all over India. The Ajinkya Rahane-led side had done something special down under. Second consecutive series win in Australia, this time against the full-strength home side and without eight of their first-choice players on the tour. Moreover, they had also breached the fortress Gabba in a heroic way chasing down a mammoth 328.

If the architects of the historic victory were the youngsters and newcomers Rishabh Pant, Shardul Thakur, Washington Sundar, and Shubman Gill, the experienced players like Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara played a huge role as well. With a lot of injuries in the Indian line-up, not many gave them any chance to even compete in the series forget winning a single Test.

But this team did wonders winning the series itself and most importantly, almost sealing India’s place in the final of the World Test Championship. The fans, expectedly, were delighted and even the elated BCCI soon announced the award of Rs 5 crore to the entire team.

After being in the bubble since August and facing a plethora of off-field changes in Australia, the victorious team India players landed in their country finally on January 21. And the welcome they got from the respective state associations and the fans at the airport was overwhelming. The likes of Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Ravi Shastri, Prithvi Shaw and Shardul Thakur were greeted at the Mumbai Airport by the officials of the MCA.

The skipper Rahane also cut the cake while he received a grand welcome near his home in Mulund. From the gate of his apartment, Ajinkya Rahane walked on the Red Carpet and was welcomed in a proper Maharashtrian way with people banging on Dhol.

T Natarajan was also welcomed superbly

Among others, the pacer T Natarajan was also welcomed in the grandest fashion after reached his village. He landed in Bengaluru first and then took off for his village in Tamil Nadu’s Salem where the fans thronged to get a glimpse of Natarajan. He was picked as a net bowler originally but ended making his debut in all the format on the tour and most importantly impressed everyone with his performances.

Shardul Thakur, after his 10-ball Test debut, finally got a chance to play his second Test and he didn’t miss out on leaving his mark. He scored 69 runs and picked seven wickets in the Brisbane Test playing a crucial role in helping India making a comeback in the first innings.

When he reached his hometown, firecrackers were burnt and then was welcomed by his parents in a proper Maharashtrian way. The same happened with yet another debutant Washington Sundar while the hero of Sydney and Brisbane, Rishabh Pant was received by journalists with good questions at the Delhi Airport. Wriddhiman Saha reached Kolkata on Friday and CAB members welcomed him at the Airport with a bouquet.