India head coach Gautam Gambhir put a full stop to the debate of India getting undue advantage of playing in a single venue in the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy, stating the Men in Blue didn’t train at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. India defeated Australia to enter the Champions Trophy final to be played on March 9.
A lot has been spoken about India playing all their Champions Trophy games in Dubai while the other teams are playing in different venues in Pakistan and even travelling between two countries.
Ever since Pakistan was announced as the hosts of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, the BCCI has been firm in his stance of not sending the Indian team to Pakistan due to security reasons.
“There’s no undue advantage in India playing in Dubai. This venue is as neutral for us as it is for the others. We haven’t even practised once at this ground as of now. We practised at the ICC Academy,” said Gautam Gambhir during the post-match press conference on Tuesday.
When did India’s Champions Trophy one-venue debate start?
The topic first came into light when former England cricketers Naseer Hussain and Michael Atherton spoke about the same in a Sky Sports podcast. Later, South African Rassie van der Dussen and England captain Jos Buttler put forth their views against India.
“You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to know that the ability to train and play in one place, coupled with the absence of any inter-city or inter-country travel, gives India an edge that they will be under pressure to fully exploit,” Rassie van der Dussen told ESPNCricinfo.
“Not really. I think it’s a unique tournament already, isn’t it, with being hosted here with one team playing in a different place but that’s not something I’m sort of worried too much about at the moment” Jos Buttler has said before England’s game against Afghanistan.
“What about the advantage India have in playing in Dubai, only in Dubai? Which seems to me to be a hard-to-quantify advantage, but an undeniable advantage,” Michael Atherton told Naseer Hussain.
