Former West Indies international Andy Roberts criticized the International Cricket Board (ICC) for meeting every demand set out by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for the just concluded ICC Champions Trophy 2025. With Dubai hosting all of India’s games, the tournament was run in a hybrid format with Pakistan as the official hosts. The ICC board meeting decided this; throughout the 2024-2027 cycle, all games scheduled for India hosted in Pakistan would be played at a neutral site.
West Indies cricket legend Andy Roberts has criticised India’s preferential treatment during the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy, questioning the fairness of allowing Rohit Sharma’s men to play all their matches in Dubai.
India wins ICC Champions Trophy 2025 and the Hybrid model conundrum
The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Thursday approved the hybrid model for next year’s ICC Champions Trophy, ending a month-long deadlock over the venue for the competition. This means that hosts and defending champions Pakistan will play India at a yet-to-be-decided neutral venue.
“India and Pakistan matches hosted by either country at ICC events during the 2024-2027 rights cycle will be played at a neutral venue, the ICC board confirmed,” said a statement released by the global body.
The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 will feature eight teams — Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan and South Africa — divided in two groups of four followed by semi-finals and a final.
India had refused to travel to Pakistan for the event due to security concerns. PCB had earlier declined to play the ICC Champions Trophy as per the hybrid model, but backed down after settling on neutral venues for both sides in ICC tournaments.
The hybrid model will also extend to next year’s women’s World Cup to be hosted in India and the men’s T20 World Cup 2026, to be organized jointly by India and Sri Lanka. In both competitions, the hybrid model will also apply to knockout games as well.
Pakistan will also host the 2028 women’s T20 World Cup, the first tournament of the next events cycle, and it remains to be seen whether the hybrid model will extend to that competition as well. The last edition of ICC Champions Trophy was held in 2017 which Pakistan won after beating India in the final.
The Champions Trophy controversy snowballed into a major crisis after the BCCI announced that the Indian team would not travel to Pakistan for the matches, tentatively scheduled from February 19 to March 9. This triggered a tripartite standoff involving the ICC, BCCI, and PCB. With Jay Shah assuming the role of ICC chairman during this period, it became the responsibility of the BCCI secretary to resolve the impasse.
Pakistan was set to host the 8-nation ICC event, their first since the 1996 World Cup, from February 19 to March 9. Lahore, Karachi, and Rawalpindi will host the matches, while the Indian team’s matches will be played in Dubai. A semi-final and final will also be played in UAE, in case India qualifies.
India and Pakistan matches hosted by any nation at ICC Events during the 2024–2027 rights cycle will take place at a neutral location, the ICC executive board declared last week.
Additionally, the PCB has been granted the right to host the 2028 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, with neutral venue agreements also being in place. Danish Kaneria, a former spinner for Pakistan, believes that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) are equally benefiting from the “lollipop” of hosting the Women’s T20 World Cup in 2028.
India lifted the Champions Trophy after defeating New Zealand by four wickets in the final. While the tournament was officially hosted in Pakistan, India played all their matches in Dubai due to the BCCI’s stance that the Indian government had refused permission for the team to travel to Pakistan.
This created an unusual situation where other teams had to travel between Pakistan and Dubai, while India played at a single venue throughout the tournament. While head coach Gautam Gambhir and captain Rohit Sharma dismissed concerns about any unfair advantage, pacer Mohammed Shami admitted that staying in one venue helped the team.
Speaking with Mid-Day, the West Indies pace great Andy Roberts criticized the ICC for providing India an edge in the Champions Trophy with their games in Dubai and also the T20 World Cup 2024, when India knew ahead of time that their semi-final clash against England would take place in Guyana.
ICC will find a way to satisfy India- Andy Roberts
The former West Indies international, Andy Roberts, slammed the International Cricket Board (ICC) for catering to all of the demands laid out by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for the recently-concluded ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
India’s victorious campaign in the recent ICC Champions Trophy 2025 has triggered fresh criticism, with legendary West Indies fast bowler Andy Roberts accusing the ICC of favoring India. The veteran pacer Andy Roberts stated that the governing body must stop bending to India’s demands and ensure a level playing field for all teams.
The tournament, which had Pakistan as the designated hosts, was held in a hybrid model with Dubai playing hosts for all of India’s games. This was agreed to in an ICC board meeting, where in the 2024-2027 cycle, all games hosted in Pakistan for India would be played at a neutral venue.
In an interview with Mid-Day, the West Indies pace great called out the ICC for giving India an advantage in the Champions Trophy with their games in Dubai and also the T20 World Cup 2024, where India knew in advance that they would play their semi-final clash against England in Guyana.
“Something’s got to give… India can’t get everything. The ICC must say no to India at times. India even had an advantage at last year’s T20 World Cup, where they knew in advance where their semi-final would be played,” Andy Roberts shared.
“It is not fair, it’s not cricket. There has to be a level playing field. I know a lot of money comes from India, but cricket ought not to be a one-country sport. It now looks like a one-nation competition and the playing field is not level. To me, the ICC stands for the Indian Cricket Board. India dictates everything. If tomorrow, India says, ‘listen there should be no no-balls and wides,’ take my word, the ICC will find a way to satisfy India,” he added.
But legendary names like Wasim Akram felt otherwise, claiming that the Indian team were so dominant that it would not have mattered where they played in the first place.
“This Indian team would have won it anywhere in the world,” Akram said on the Dressing Room show.
“Yes, there were a lot of talks, but once it was decided that India would play all of their matches in Dubai and had they played in Pakistan, they would have won there as well,” he added.