The World Cup victors returned to praise from Prime Minister Modi and a victory parade near Delhi's airport, with enthusiastic crowds chanting "India, India!!".

After their victory in the Caribbean, beating South Africa in a thrilling final in Barbados on Saturday, and being stranded for several days due to Hurricane Beryl, the T20 World Cup winning cricket team arrived back home to the euphoria of a cheering public.

The team waved to the crowds and danced to the rhythm of drums and live music at their hotel before heading to meet Modi at his residence.

Vice-captain Hardik Pandya was the first to emerge, wearing a Caribbean hat, and the crowd erupted when captain Rohit came out carrying the trophy, which he raised into the air.

Star batsman Virat Kohli, whose hometown is Delhi, received some of the loudest cheers as he waved to hundreds of fans.

Wearing India jerseys emblazoned with the words "Champions", Rohit and his team were pictured posing with the trophy and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"An excellent meeting with our champions!" Modi wrote on social media platform X after meeting India's new heroes.

In the evening, the team were paraded in an open-top bus through the financial capital Mumbai, the birthplace of India's cricket obsession, along a coastal route lined with cheering crowds.

They took a victory lap in front of thousands more fans at the Wankhede Stadium, the site of India's last World Cup victory in the 50-over version of the tournament in 2011.

"This is surreal to see my team with the World Cup," an emotional fan, Rohit Khanna, told AFP before the team landed.

"I saw the triumph in 2011, but this is a moment I will never forget."

"It's a dream for me to see India return home from a World Cup," said a shirtless fan with a Kohli tattoo on his chest.

Last weekend's victory ended an 11-year global cricket trophy drought for India, the world's most fanatical nation, who won the Champions Trophy in 2013.

The final was the last game in charge for 51-year-old coach Rahul Dravid, who was lifted into the air by the team during the post-match celebrations.

Rohit, Kohli and all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja announced their retirement from international T20 cricket after winning the title in Central America.

An interesting fact about the fanaticism and expectations of the Indian people for the arrival of their champions is that flight tracking website Flightradar24 reported that the special Air India charter had been the "most tracked flight for much of the last 15 hours", highlighting an unusual level of fan enthusiasm around the world.