Pat Cummins has revealed why India have a 'huge advantage' in Champions Trophy 2025.
Australia’s regular skipper Pat Cummins has slammed the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) decision to let India play all of their Champions Trophy 2025 matches in Dubai, claiming that the Men in Blue playing at a single venue gives them a “huge advantage”. This comes after team India refused to travel to the host nation – Pakistan due to security concerns. The tournament is ongoing in a hybrid model. A similar model was implemented during the 2023 Asia Cup when India played all their matches in Sri Lanka.
“I think it’s good that the tournament can go on, but obviously it does give them (India) a huge advantage playing on the same ground. They already look very strong and they’ve got that obvious benefit of playing all their games there,” he was quoted as saying by Yahoo Sports Australia.
Cummins is currently missing the mega-event due to an ankle injury. Steven Smith is leading Australia in Cummins’ absence.
The Rohit Sharma-led side began their campaign with a six-wicket win over Bangladesh. They followed it up with another six-wicket win over Pakistan on Sunday, with Virat Kohli starring with an unbeaten century. New Zealand are currently locking horns against Bangladesh in the other Group A match. Should the Black Caps beat Bangladesh today (February 24), New Zealand and India will qualify for the semi-finals.
Should India qualify for the semi-finals, they will play the match in Dubai itself. The final, scheduled for March 9, will take place in Lahore if India doesn’t qualify. Should India qualify, the final will be held in Dubai.
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Australia, meanwhile, are missing star players including Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchell Starc. While Cummins and Hazlewood have been ruled out due to their respective injuries, Starc has opted out due to personal reasons. Marcus Stoinis announced a shock retirement from ODIs just before the Champions Trophy. Mitchell Marsh was also ruled out due to an injury.
Despite being a depleted side on paper, Australia chased down 352 against England in their campaign opener on Saturday. Josh Inglis scored an unbeaten century whereas Matt Short and Alex Carey scored fifties.
That was Australia’s first win in the Champions Trophy since winning the final of the 2009 edition in South Africa. The Steven Smith-led side will take on South Africa in their second group-stage match in Rawalpindi on February 25.
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