Team India forced to change airlines after Jet Airways grounds its fleet ahead of World Cup

Team India has been forced to change their traveling plans ahead of the upcoming World Cup in England and Wales. The twelfth edition of the competition will start on May 30 with hosts England taking on South Africa in the tournament opener. India, on the other hand, will kickstart their campaign on June 5 against South Africa. This year’s format will see all the ten participating teams taking on each other once before the top four make it to the semifinal.

But ahead of the mega-event, the BCCI will now have to look for alternative flight company as their preferred flying partners Jet Airways has grounded their fleet due to the cashflow crunch. The Indian cricket board has been on the lookout for alternate airlines which has a fleet big enough to provide them with 30 business class berths to accommodate the whole squad.

According to reports, finding such accommodation was proving tough as the demands have increased for all the airlines with the cancellation of Jet aircraft. “It’s a challenge but we are addressing it. The team will leave as planned on or before May 22,” a BCCI official said while speaking to Mumbai Mirror.

But fortunately, the board has finally found a solution to their flying problem. According to Economic Times, the BCCI has booked seats on Emirates Airways, who are also the preferred flying partners of ICC. Virat Kohli  & Co. will leave for the World Cup on May 22 and play two warm-up games before the World Cup.

All bases covered

Team India head coach Ravi Shastri, meanwhile, has said that the team has all its bases covered for the tournament. Currently the second-best ODI side in the world,  India are one of the favourites for the tournament.

“I think we have got all bases covered. Last thing you want is passengers on the tour. You want to have in those 15 players … who can play anytime, at any given time. If there is a major injury to a fast bowler, there will be a replacement almost straight away,” Shastri told Cricketnext.

[interaction id=”5cdada3adf3c8d219f86cf35″]

Get the latest Cricket News and updates from World Cup 2019, Match Predictions, Fantasy Cricket Tips and lots more on CricTracker.com.