The Indian cricket team secured a spot in the Champions Trophy 2025 semifinals, maintaining an unbeaten record by defeating New Zealand in Dubai. Despite their success, past and current players voiced concerns over perceived ‘unfair advantages’ due to India playing all matches in Dubai, as the Indian government barred travel to Pakistan. Critics like ex-England cricketers Naseer Hussain and Mike Atherton expressed dissatisfaction with the scheduling. However, former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly defended the team, suggesting they would perform better on Pakistani pitches. As India prepares to face Australia, historical challenges loom, having not defeated them in knockout rounds since the 2011 World Cup.
The Indian cricket team showcased their skills during the Champions Trophy 2025© AFP
The Indian cricket team secured their spot in the Champions Trophy 2025 semifinals without any defeats, having triumphed over New Zealand in Dubai on Sunday. India remains the only team in the tournament that has won all three of their matches thus far. Nonetheless, both former and current players have raised concerns about an ‘unfair advantage’ since India is playing all their games in Dubai. The Indian government has restricted the national team from traveling to Pakistan, leading the International Cricket Council (ICC) to opt for a ‘hybrid format’ for the tournament. Former England cricketers like Nasser Hussain and Mike Atherton expressed their dissatisfaction with the scheduling, while Jos Buttler and South Africa’s Rassie van der Dussen shared similar views when questioned on the matter.
Former Indian cricket captain Sourav Ganguly, however, had a sharp response to the criticism, suggesting that India would have scored more runs had they been playing on the pitches in Pakistan.
“The pitches in Pakistan are much better. India would’ve scored more runs there,” he stated at an event.
While history poses a challenge for them, India will look to leverage a strong spin attack and their familiarity with the conditions to overcome their knockout stage frustrations against a depleted Australia in their Champions Trophy semifinal showdown on Tuesday.
However, it won’t be an easy task, as Australia has proven to be a tough competitor in global tournaments, even in the absence of key players like Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, and Mitchell Starc.
Their remarkable chase of 352 runs against England in Lahore just a few days ago underscores this point.
The last instance where India emerged victorious against Australia in the knockout phase of an ICC event dates back to the 2011 World Cup quarterfinal.
India suffered defeats to Australia in the semifinals of the 2015 ODI World Cup and during the championship match of the 2023 ODI World Cup, and they also fell to them in the World Test Championship final in 2023.
(With PTI inputs)
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