Former England captains Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton has said that the Rohit Sharma-led India has an “undeniable advantage” of playing all their matches in Dubai. India are playing all their matches — including the one against Pakistan — at a neutral venue in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates.
The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 matter has finally been resolved as the tournament will be played in a hybrid model. Apart from the games of India and one semi-final, all the other games in the event will be taking place in Pakistan across three venues.
BCCI, PCB agree on hybrid model for ICC Champions Trophy 2025
The International Cricket Council (ICC) in January 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 Dubai
“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 is 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
India cruise to Semi Finals after beating Pakistan & Kiwis defeating Bangladesh
India’s spot in the semifinals of ICC Champions Trophy was confirmed following New Zealand’s victory over Bangladesh, the result also eliminating tournament hosts Pakistan from the event on Monday.
India won their first two matches in convincing fashion, beating both Bangladesh and Pakistan by identical margin of six wickets. New Zealand, who too have registered two victories in as many matches, also advanced to the last four stage from Group A. Former England captain Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain feel India have an ‘advantage’ playing all their matches in Dubai.
Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain discuss how big advantage India are having while playing their matches in Dubai
Former England captain Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain feel India have an ‘advantage’ playing all their matches at the Dubai International Stadium after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) refused to travel to the host country Pakistan for the tournament.
“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. They’re playing at just one venue. They don’t have to travel either between venues or, you know, between countries, as a lot of other teams have to do,” Atherton asked on Sky Sports.
“Therefore, the selection, you know, can focus in on the conditions in Dubai, and obviously they’ll know where they’re playing their semi final as and when they get through to that. That seems to me to be an undeniable advantage, but kind of hard to quantify. How big? How big an advantage” Atherton asked Hussain.
“No, it is an advantage. So the best team have in the tournament have that advantage. I saw a tweet the other day saying, Pakistan, home host nation, India, home advantage. And that sort of sums it up. Really, they’re in one place. They’re in one hotel. There is no travel. They’re in one dressing room. They know the pitch. They’ve picked for that pitch. I think selection, when they selected, they were very smart,” said Nasser Hussain.
They probably knew what Dubai was going to be like. They picked all their spinners. There was a bit of debate even, but from India media saying, Why haven’t you gone for the extra Seems like, why all these spinners? Well, we’ve seen what, why, and also other sides,” Hussain said.
“They’re not done like I mentioned, England, if they do get through to a semi, they’ve got one spinner. Pakistan last night had one frontline spinner, you could argue, when the injuries came, they should have changed that, and I’ve made that argument. But all the other nights have to pick and for different conditions, Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Dubai, and then they have to travel travel and adjust to those conditions. So it is, it is an advantage.
But what else could could happen? ICC once India refused to come here to Pakistan. What else could happen? You can’t have a tournament like this without India, Pakistan. That’s not going to happen. So it had to be in Dubai. And they sit happily and comfortably. There, knowing that they’re going to you know, probably play six games there and if they win all those they’ll they’ll win another global board,” he added.
Whether India has advantage playing in Dubai or not would be decided only after the Champions Trophy 2025 will get over but Team India as a team looks a formidable unit to beat in the conditions suited for them.