Virat Kohli, Shubman Gill and Harshit Rana in a practice session ahead of the final© AFP
The fact that the Indian cricket team played all of its Champions Trophy matches at a single venue – the Dubai International Cricket Stadium – has triggered some serious allegations against the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Many in the international cricketing spectrum have claimed that the Indian team has enjoyed an ‘undue advantage’ by playing all of its matches in Dubai while the other participating teams have had to travel to different cities over the course of the campaign. Former Pakistan Pacer Junaid Khan re-ignited the debate around the topic ahead of the Champions Trophy final, backing his accusation by figures.
Junaid, in his scathing post, pointed out that scheduling of the Champions Trophy has been a big factor behind India’s success in the tournament. In his post, the former Pakistan cricketer pointed out how much the likes of New Zealand and South Africa have had to travel in comparison to India since the start of the Champions Trophy.
“Distance travelled between matches in Champions Trophy 2025:
– New Zealand: 7,150 KM – South Africa: 3,286 KM – India: 0 KM
Some teams win by skill, some win by scheduling…”, Junaid wrote in a post on X (formerly Twitter).
Distance traveled between matches in Champions Trophy 2025:
New Zealand: 7,150 KM
South Africa: 3,286 KM
India: 0 KM
Some teams win by skill, some win by scheduling… #indvsnzfinal #indvsnz #ChampionsTrophy2025 #ChampionsTrophy
— Junaid khan (@JunaidkhanREAL) March 8, 2025
Earlier, India head coach Gautam Gambhir was also asked about his views on the ‘venue advantage’ allegations against his team. Gambhir shut down the talks, saying his team has been practicing at the ICC academy and not the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.
“Kaunsi undue advantage? (What undue advantage?) We practice at ICC Academy, where conditions are different from what we get here at the stadium. Some people are perpetual cribbers; they need to grow up,” said Gambhir at the press conference after India qualified for the Champions Trophy final.
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