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Robin Uthappa and Lalchand Rajput feel there is no implicit ‘home advantage’ for India at the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
India at CT 2025 (AP Photo)
Robin Uthappa and Lalchand Rajput opened up on the alleged ‘home advantage’ for India at the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
Rohit Sharma’s men are playing all their matches in Dubai and even the final will be held there if the team goes the distance. This was done after India refused to travel to Pakistan, the original hosts of the event, citing security concerns.
Robin Uthappa said Indian batters could have scored more runs on the flat pitches in Pakistan.
“I will not say it’s a home advantage but there is definitely an advantage of familiarity. I heard an interview where former India opener Wasim Jaffer was saying that there could have been one match in Abu Dhabi, one in Dubai and one in Sharjah, and definitely that could have been done so that other teams couldn’t find a reason to complain. However, we must ask why didn’t we go to Pakistan? Because of the geo-political situation. And each country has their right to decide if they don’t want to travel to a particular nation. And for that, if one country ends up playing in one venue then so be it,” Robin was quoted as saying at the launch of a book – Life Lessons from Cricket.
“India could have complained that had they played on flat Pakistani pitches, their record could have been nicer. Each batsman would have got an opportunity to score (heavily). You may say whatever, but at the end of the day, cricket is a contest between bat and ball and the team which plays well on that day wins. And those who complain, you can sense their mental state. It becomes so obvious,” Robin added.
Lalchand Rajput feels it is hard for any team, to get used to the conditions in Dubai arguing that there is not much ‘advantage’ anyway.
“See, there is definitely an advantage as one team is playing all matches in one venue. But if you look closely, Pakistani pitches are flat while Dubai is on the slower side and it will take some effort to get used to these conditions quickly,” Lalchand Rajput said.
- Location :
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE)
