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India have been playing all their Champions Trophy matches in Dubai because of the Hybrid Model.
pat Cummins (left) feels playing at one ground is an advantage for Rohit Sharma’s (right) India. (PTI Photo)
Pat Cummins might not be part of Australia‘s Champions Trophy squad but that hasn’t stopped him from firing a salvo at rivals India. Cummins was expected to lead former champions Australia at the ICC event, but an injury has prevented his participation.
In Cummins’ absence, Steve Smith is leading the current ODI World champions, and they’ve started their campaign by completing a record chase against Ashes rivals England.
The Champions Trophy 2025 is being played in a Hybrid Model with India’s matches being hosted in Dubai. As part of the agreement between BCCI, PCB and cricket’s global governing body ICC, the teams of the two neighbours will not play in each other’s country in global tournaments.
India will play all their matches in Dubai including the semifinal and the final (should they qualify). On the other hand, other teams have been playing across different venues including Rawalpindi, Lahore and Karachi.
Cummins feels that playing at a single venue – Dubai International Cricket Stadium – is a huge advantage for Rohit Sharma’s men.
“I think it’s good in that the tournament can go on, but obviously it does give them (India) a huge advantage playing on the same ground. They already look very strong and they’ve got that obvious benefit of playing all their games there,” Cummins was quoted as saying by Yahoo Australia.
India have won both their matches of the tournament so far and qualified for the semifinals. They opened their tournament with a six-wicket win over Bangladesh before brushing aside arch-rivals Pakistan in a one-sided contest recently.
Cummins is the latest to claim the ‘Dubai advantage’ for India after former England captains Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain.
Atherton and Hussain think that knowing that they will be playing at a particular venue has meant their India’s selection is quite focused for one condition and they don’t have to travel between different venues unlike other teams.
