‘India could have complained that if we play in Pakistan…’: Uthappa brutally silences Champions Trophy venue controversy
Due to geo-political tensions, India didn't travel to Pakistan for the ongoing Champions Trophy 2025, and instead are playing all their matches in Dubai.
India have already qualified for the Champions Trophy 2025 semi-finals and one Group A fixture against New Zealand, which will decide the final outlook of the standings. Rohit Sharma and Co. have faced criticism from former and current players of other teams and experts of having ‘home advantage’ of playing in the same venue. Notably even Aussie skipper Pat Cummins, who withdrew from the tournament due to injury, criticised ICC's decision to make India play in only one venue, Dubai.
Due to geo-political tensions with Pakistan, the Indian cricket team didn't travel to the host nation and requested for a neutral venue, which was granted by ICC. India will play all their matches in Dubai, which is also the semi-final, and if they reach the final. If they don't reach the final, then the title clash will be played in Pakistan.
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Robin Uthappa on India-Pakistan Champions Trophy venue controversy
Speaking on the issue, Robin Uthappa, a former teammate of Virat Kohli, rejected the idea that it gave India ‘home advantage’, and came up with a befitting reply to all the critics.
Speaking via PTI, he said, “I won't call it a home advantage, but there is definitely a familiarity advantage. I was listening to an interview yesterday. If I am not mistaken, Wasim Jaffer was saying that if he was going to play in Dubai, he could have played one match in Dubai, one match in Abu Dhabi and one match in Sharjah. They could have definitely done that. So that other teams don't have to complain about this situation.”
“But why didn't we go to Pakistan? These are geopolitical reasons. And every country has a right. If they don't want to go, then they shouldn't go. And if a team has to play in a venue because of that, then they have to play. We could have complained that if we had played in Pakistan, our record scores would have been very good. Every batsman gets an opportunity to make a run. This is a matter of speaking. At the end of the day, a match is between a bat and a ball. And I believe that the team that plays well on that day will win,” he added.
India began their campaign with a convincing win against Bangladesh. Then they followed it up with a victory against arch-rivals Pakistan, which was also the knockout blow for the hosts. The match also saw Virat Kohli return to form, as he got an unbeaten ton and also hit the match-winning four to get his 51st ODI hundred.
