Credit: BCCI
India Test batter Cheteshwar Pujara has come up with his views on Team India receiving undue advantage in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Following India’s three consecutive wins in the group round followed by the semi-final victory, former England players including David Lloyd, Nasser Hussain, and Michael Atherton accused India of getting unfair advantage which resulted in the debate whether the Men in Blue are getting success in the ongoing tournament due to familiar conditions in Dubai.
Amidst these discussions, Pujara has dismissed all the accusations on India and said the format of the competition was decided months ago and the debate wouldn’t have taken place if the Rohit Sharma-led side had lost their games in Dubai. Pujara believes India have a well-balanced team which has helped them to get the desired results in the tournament, thus far.
"I don't think so. The schedule was out there before the Champions Trophy began, the reason for Indian team to not travel to Pakistan was the security. ICC and BCCI worked together to try and find a neutral venue. India have played against Pakistan at a neutral venue, and UAE is closer to Pakistan. I don't think it's an unfair advantage. If India had lost, no one would've said they played in Dubai, that's why they lost. I don't think it's a home ground for India. The advantage for India is the kind of talent they have, the number of all-rounders they have," said Pujara in a conversation with RevSportz.
Pujara appreciated India’s decision to carry five spinners for the tournament
Pujara has commended Team India for including five spinners for their matches in Dubai in the 50-over ICC event. He also remarked India have quality all-rounders which include Hardik Pandya. "We have Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel, we have Kuldeep and Varun. We have four quality spinners. I think we have the best balance, we have better all-rounders. We have Hardik, who is another all-rounder” added Pujara.
India will heavily bank on their spin-bowling unit against New Zealand in the final Champions Trophy 2025 encounter to be played in Dubai on March 9. Varun Chakravarthy will be expected to shine with the ball again and assist his senior colleague Ravindra Jadeja in the key contest against the Black Caps.
