India secures substantial advantage with ICC's contentious decision on Champions Trophy venue, argues Cummins

The ongoing Champions Trophy 2025 is now in full swing with exciting matches taking place in the group stage. Despite initial concerns, Pakistan has been proving its hosting capabilities with no complaints so far. However, the tournament was not without its share of drama, particularly surrounding India's political relations with Pakistan. Due to ongoing tensions, the Indian team led by Rohit Sharma opted not to travel to Pakistan, and all their scheduled matches are now being held in Dubai for safety reasons.

The ICC’s decision led to criticism from some sections of the cricket fraternity. Many have felt that playing all their matches in the same ground in Dubai gives them a significant advantage.

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Recently during an interaction with Yahoo Sports Australia, Pat Cummins reacted to the statements given by many experts that playing in Dubai gives India an advantage. “I think it's good 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,” he said.

Cummins is currently out of action, due to an injury which saw him miss the ongoing tournament.

India began their campaign with a convincing six-wicket win vs Bangladesh, in which Shubman Gill got a match-winning unbeaten century. Then, they backed it up with a six-wicket win against arch-rivals Pakistan, which sent them to top spot in Group A. Chasing 242 runs, India cruised to 244/4 in 42.3 overs as Virat Kohli remained unbeaten with a match-winning century (100* off 111 balls). Meanwhile, even Shreyas Iyer contributed with a crucial knock of 56 runs off 67 balls. For Pakistan’s bowling department, Shaheen Shah Afridi struck twice.

Initially, Kuldeep Yadav’s three-wicket haul and Hardik Pandya’s two dismissals saw India restrict Pakistan to 241 in 49.4 overs. Meanwhile, Saud Shakeel registered 62 runs off 76 balls.

The hosts stare at an exit sign and need a miracle to qualify for the semi-finals. After the match, even skipper Mohammad Rizwan was visibly disappointed with his side’s performance and accepted that their campaign is over.

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