KOLKATA: The Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) team, en route from Lucknow to Kolkata after their IPL 2024 match against Lucknow Super Giants (LSG), faced a challenging journey on Monday (May 06) evening as heavy rains in the eastern region disrupted their flight.
According to updates provided by the KKR media team, the team departed Lucknow at 5:45 pm IST, with a scheduled landing time of 7:25 pm in Kolkata.
However, at 8:46 pm, due to adverse weather conditions over Kolkata, their charter flight was diverted to Guwahati, where they landed.
“KKR’s charter flight from Lucknow to Kolkata diverted to Guwahati due to bad weather,” the team management informed.
Despite receiving clearance to fly back to Kolkata from Guwahati at 9:43 pm, their flight encountered further complications.
At 1:15 am, it was confirmed that multiple attempts to land in Kolkata were unsuccessful due to persistent bad weather.
Consequently, the flight was diverted mid-air to Varanasi, where they eventually landed.
By 3:00 am, the team decided to check into a hotel, specifically the Taj Ganges in Varanasi, for an overnight stay.
Plans for their return flight to Kolkata were tentatively set for Tuesday (May 07) afternoon, with departure from Varanasi scheduled for 1:15 pm.
Thankfully, the unexpected delay does not significantly impact the team’s schedule, as their next IPL match is not until Saturday.
They will conclude their league fixtures in Ahmedabad (against Gujarat Titans on May 13) and Guwahati (against Rajasthan Royals on May 19).
Meanwhile, Kolkata experienced torrential rain on Monday (May 06), following weeks of record-high temperatures, resulting in waterlogged streets as captured by news broadcasts and shared on social media platforms.