Sunil Gavaskar has indicated that India would prefer to face Australia over South Africa in the ICC Champions Trophy semi-finals due to Australia’s relatively inexperienced bowling lineup, missing key players like Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Josh Hazlewood. India will determine their opponent after their final group match against New Zealand. If India wins, they will meet Australia; otherwise, they will play South Africa, a rematch of last year’s T20 World Cup final. Despite criticism for playing all matches in Dubai, New Zealand’s Glenn Phillips emphasized their no-excuses mindset regarding venue challenges.
Legendary batsman Sunil Gavaskar has discussed why India might prefer to face Australia instead of South Africa in the semi-finals of the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy. South Africa secured their semi-final spot on Saturday, joining India, New Zealand, and Australia. The Proteas finished at the top of Group B, ahead of the reigning 50-over world champions, Australia. India will determine their Champions Trophy semi-final opponent after their final group match against New Zealand on Sunday in Dubai. Should India triumph over the Kiwis, they will meet Australia in the first semi-final on Tuesday at the Dubai International Stadium.
If not, they will encounter the Proteas, marking a rematch of last year’s T20 World Cup final, which Rohit Sharma and his team won in Barbados. Regardless of their opponent, India’s semi-final will take place in Dubai on Tuesday.
Gavaskar, in an interview with India Today, stated that if given a choice, India would likely favor playing against Australia since their bowling attack is somewhat less experienced without their fast bowling trio of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Josh Hazlewood.
“Both teams are formidable, make no mistake. There’s no team that India would definitively prefer, as they understand they have reached the knockout stages. It’s now a make-or-break situation, so I don’t think they would wish to face any particular team. Perhaps Australia, as they have played against Australia before and may feel more familiar with them than South Africa, whom they last faced in the T20 World Cup 2024 final. So, maybe they would lean towards Australia due to the absence of their main bowlers. With Starc, Cummins, and Hazlewood missing, they might prefer to play against them,” Gavaskar told India Today.
India has faced criticism for playing all their matches at the same venue in Dubai, while other teams have been traveling to various venues across Pakistan.
Nonetheless, Glenn Phillips asserted that New Zealand remains unfazed by competing at different venues leading up to their final group-stage match against India on Sunday.
“For us, there’s no focus on anything like that. A tournament draw is what it is, and we maintain a no-excuses mindset when it comes to participating in a tournament; we deal with the situation at hand. The reality is India has been assigned their schedule, and we have ours. We will never complain about what we receive, and we will simply do our best with the circumstances we have,” he mentioned to reporters during the pre-match press conference.
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