Pat Cummins feels India have got an unfair advantage in the ICC Champions Trophy

India will play all their ICC Champions Trophy 2024/25 matches in Dubai, and Pat Cummins believes this gives them an advantage.

Pat Cummins feels India have got an unfair advantage in the ICC Champions Trophy

L: Indian cricket Team; R: Pat Cummins (Via BCCI/X)

The ICC Champions Trophy 2024/25 is already underway, and the Indian Cricket Team have qualified for the semi-final after beating Bangladesh and Pakistan. Ahead of the start of the tournament, there was a big clash between the BCCI and PCB regarding India’s travel to Pakistan for the tournament.

PCB was adamant in their stance that they wanted the full tournament to be played on their soil. However, the BCCI were also resolute in their stance of not sending their team to Pakistan for security reasons and wanted to play the tournament in a hybrid model.

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In the end, it was decided that India would play all their matches in Dubai, including the final, if they qualify for it. On the other hand, the rest of the matches will be played in Pakistan. Many felt that it was an unfair advantage to the Men in Blue, given that they would be playing all their matches in a single venue and the other teams would have to travel.

Meanwhile, Australian captain Pat Cummins, who is not playing in the Champions Trophy due to injury, has stated that it is indeed an advantage for Rohit Sharma‘s side given that they are playing all their matches in Dubai.

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.

Pat Cummins told Yahoo Australia (H/T: Indian Express).

India has utilized the slow and used pitches in Dubai from the ILT20. They have taken five spinners in their squad and have become well accustomed to the conditions of the wicket. They have controlled the middle overs and have created problems for both Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Pat Cummins is waiting to make a comeback for Sunrisers Hyderabad in IPL 2025

The ODI World Cup 2023 and WTC 2023 winning captain is aiming for a comeback on the cricket field in the IPL 2025 for Sunrisers Hyderabad. He was last seen in action during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024/25, where he captained his side to a 3-1 win against India and qualified for the final.

Pat Cummins
Pat Cummins (Image via Imago)

Cummins is recovering from an ankle injury, and he talked about his recovery in the same interview. He stated that his ankle is recovering well, and he just needs the rest to be back fit on the cricket field. Cummins went on to say that he would be fit before IPL 2025 and ready for the WTC 2025 final.

The ankle is starting to come good. “It’s a funny one –- it’s not like a hamstring where you need six weeks (to recover). It’s one of those ones where it really just needs a bit (more) rest to settle down. Physically it’s quite a nice build-up for the World Test Championship final, and then the Test matches after that. That’s the aim at this stage -– start bowling over the next week or so, building up, and should be right for IPL.

Pat Cummins said

Steve Smith is leading the Australia side in the Champions Trophy in the absence of Cummins. The Men in Yellow are also missing the services of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Marcus Stoinis, and Mitchell Marsh. They won their first match of the tournament against Australia, but the second match against South Africa has been abandoned due to rain.