Air India Express — Abrupt flight cancellation. IX-795 Air India Express

I had booked a flight ticket from CNN to KWI on 20 January 2023. (Flight No. IX-795)
Unfortunately, yesterday afternoon, on 17 January 2023, 64 hours before departure, I received an email from Air India Express informing me that the flight was cancelled and was asked to contact the city office for rebooking.

I called Air India Express Kannur City office on [protected] and Air India customer care on [protected] to rebook the next flight from CNN to KWI.

I was informed that the next flight is on 27 January 2023 which is 7 days away from the booked date, 20 Jan 2023.
However, I do not want to opt for the same, as I will incur financial losses and probably face problems with my job, due to the delay.
Further, my visa is expiring on 3 Feb 2023.

The second option which was provided was to get a refund for the ticket for which I had paid INR 16, 515.
I checked for other flights departing from Kannur Airport and found that Go Air has an early morning flight on 21 January 2023. But the ticket rate is INR 23, 126.
This means, I would have to wait for another day and spend an extra amount of INR 6, 899.