India And The Pitch Controversy In Champions Trophy
The political tensions between India and Pakistan led to the decision for India to play all of their Champions Trophy matches in Dubai. The stand-off between the rivals, which lasted for more than a month, had left the tournament’s plans in jeopardy until the Pakistan board finally agreed to compromise with the International Cricket Council (ICC). However, this did not end on a happy note, as all other seven teams would have to shuttle between three venues in Pakistan and the UAE.
As per the deal, Pakistan will have to play at a neutral venue in any ICC tournament hosted by India until 2027. This controversial decision was taken after Jay Shah, the secretary of the BCCI, took over as ICC chairman in December at the headquarters of the sport’s governing body in Dubai. Although the Indian team is in solid form in the Champions Trophy 2025, sports pundits have slammed India, for allegedly benefitting from playing all their matches in Dubai.
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The opposing players, including former England captains Nasser Hussain and Mike Atherton, England skipper Jos Buttler, and South Africa’s Rassie van der Dussen, have weighed in with their disagreement regarding the current hybrid model. “No flights, no switching of hotels, no need to adjust or pick a squad for contrasting venues,” the other team players alleged.
Dubai, being a spinner-friendly pitch, allowed Indian team to easily pick their squad. The team had already secured three convincing wins on the ground. “I feel very uncomfortable about the way that India is being treated at the moment,” former England cricketer and popular broadcaster Jonathan Agnew told ABC Sport. “This is wrong. If you’re going to play an international tournament, you can’t pick and choose where you play and where you’re not going to play. I don’t see how long this can carry on for. It makes a farce of these tournaments,” he added.
Meanwhile, matches played in Pakistan, across Lahore, Karachi, and Rawalpindi, have seen teams scoring 34.96 runs per wicket, with eight centuries and 17 half-centuries scored. Two of these are regarded as the highest individual scores in Champions Trophy history. Moreover, in six out of the 14 innings played in Pakistan, teams crossed the 300-run barrier. In contrast, Dubai has had much lower-scoring games. The average batting score is as low as 28, with only three centuries. India’s best total in Dubai was against New Zealand—249, the highest by six innings across the ground.
“What about the advantage India has in playing only in Dubai, which seems to me to be a hard-to-quantify advantage, but an undeniable one?” former England captain Michael Atherton asked Nasser Hussain on the Sky Sports Podcast. “They’re playing at just one venue. Therefore, the selection can focus on the conditions in Dubai.”
Weighing in on the ongoing debate, Australia’s Pat Cummins, who missed the games due to an ankle injury, said, “I think it’s good in that the tournament can go on, but obviously, it does give them (India) a huge advantage playing on the same ground.” Continuing further, he said: “They already look very strong, and they have that obvious benefit of playing all their games there.”
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However, dismissing all the claims, Rohit Sharma said, “Every time, the pitch gives you different challenges. The three matches that we played here, the pitch has behaved differently. This is not our home, this is Dubai. We don’t play so many matches here, and this is new for us too,” during the pre-match press conference ahead of the semifinal against Australia. The allegations were further rubbished by former India skipper Sourav Ganguly with a quick retort. Addressing a Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) function on Sunday, he said, “The pitches in Pakistan are much better. India would’ve scored more runs there.”
