Mitchell Starc opines on India’s venue advantage in Champions Trophy

Australia’s leading pacer Mitchell Starc shared his verdict on the ongoing debate regarding eventual champions India’s single venue advantage during the recently concluded ICC Men’s Champions Trophy 2025.

The left-arm pacer, who missed the eight-team tournament due to personal reasons, acknowledged that India playing their matches at a single without having to travel was an advantage for the men in blue.

But Mitchell Starc argued that the Rohit Sharma-led side won the title ‘fair and square’, stating that they have been brilliant across formats.

"When one team gets to stay at one place, no flights, no restrictions upon them in the place, train at the same venue every time, play every game at the same venue, I would tend to agree with some of the opinions that have come out. I can understand where a lot of the guys in the other seven teams were coming from and some opinions from broadcasters," Starc said on Fanatics TV's YouTube channel.

"There's been a lot made on that topic. Obviously, India tried to push that to the side and say it's a neutral venue, but there's been a lot to come out of the tournament during and post. India won fair and square, they were the better team, they are a bloody good cricket team, and have been across all formats for a long time," Starc said in the same interview.

For the unversed, 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.