Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) may be braving teams on the field in the 2024 edition of the IPL for fun, however, they didn't have much say in front of inclement weather as a five-day break came to their rescue. KKR team's Kolkata-bound flight from Lucknow was diverted to Guwahati late Monday night due to bad weather in Kolkata. However, an hour later when it was ready to take off from Guwahati, it was diverted yet again and the table-toppers find themselves in Varanasi currently.
KKR, who played their last game on Sunday in Lucknow, will be in action on Saturday, May 11 against the Mumbai Indians at home, so they do have a few days before their next game and weather decided to take them on a ride. The Knight Riders as per the latest update will attempt another flight in afternoon after staying in Varanasi overnight.
"Travel update: KKR's charter flight from Lucknow to Kolkata diverted to Guwahati due to bad weather. Flight currently standing at the Guwahati Airport tarmac. More updates soon," the first update at 9:34 PM IST from KKR on Twitter (now X) read. At 10:11 PM, they were ready to take off for Kolkata from Guwahati.
"Update at 1:20 AM: Flight diverted to Varanasi after another failed attempt at landing in Kolkata due to bad weather. Current status: At the Lal Bahadur Shastri International airport tarmac," read the next update.
"Update at 3:00 AM: KKR team would be checking into Varanasi hotel for overnight stay. Return flight to Kolkata TBD on Tuesday (7 May) afternoon. Stay safe, Kolkata," the final update read.
KKR are due to play in Guwahati against the Rajasthan Royals on May 19, which will be their final league stage match but they didn't know they would land in the city 12 days before. KKR are currently at the top of the table with eight wins in 11 matches.
The weather in Kolkata brought some respite to the locals from the excessive heat and is set to remain cloudy with showers in the next few days with the forecast for Saturday, the match day also not being dry.
