Former England captain says India have ‘advantage’ of playing matches in Dubai

KARACHI: Former England cricketer Nasser Hussain believes that former champions India have an ‘advantage’ of playing all of their ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025 matches at one venue, the Dubai International Cricket Stadium in Dubai.

Just months before the commencement of the eight-team tournament, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) refused to send its national men’s team to Pakistan, citing the directives of their government.

The BCCI’s refusal drew a stern reaction from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), resulting in a long standoff between the two cricketing bodies.

The dispute eventually culminated with PCB proposing a ‘Fusion Formula’, which states that both teams will play their matches at a neutral venue when India or Pakistan is hosting an event for the next three years.

India, who kicked off their Champions Trophy 2025 with back-to-back victories including against arch-rivals Pakistan, sealed a berth in the semi-finals after New Zealand beat Bangladesh on Monday.

Although, India entered the tournament as the ‘favourites’, former England captain Nasser Hussain believes that the 2013 champions have an advantage over the rest of the participating, citing the fact that they do not have to travel and get to play all of their matches at a single venue.

"It is an advantage. So, the best team in the tournament have that advantage. And I saw a tweet the other day saying 'Pakistan host nation, India home advantage.' It sums it up really. They are at one place, one hotel, they don't have to travel. They have one dressing room. They know the pitch, they have picked for that pitch,” said Hussain.

Atherton echoed Hussain’s remarks, stating that India have an ‘undeniable advantage’ but can’t quantify its enormity.

“They’re (India) playing at just venue. They don’t have to travel either between venues or countries, as a lot of other teams have to do. Therefore, the selection, can focus in on the conditions in Dubai. That seems to me to be an undeniable advantage, but kind of hard to quantity how big an advantage,” Michael Atherton also remarked.