Champions Trophy Scheduling Under Scrutiny as India Enjoys Easier Path to Semi-Finals
India is currently based in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates for the ongoing 2025 ICC Champions Trophy that is staged in Pakistan.
Given the history between the two countries, India and Pakistan, it was decided that India would play all of their games at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, a feat that has seen India and the BCCI cop a lot of criticism.
India’s unfair advantages in ICC events
The criticism is a result of India having an advantage playing in the same conditions in Dubai while the rest of the teams competing in the Champions Trophy are facing the physical and mental challenges that come with travelling from city to city in between matches.
India does not have to deal with the physical and mental demands of travel.
With the other teams playing in Pakistan, where conditions are vastly different than the ones in Dubai, tough calls had to be made when squad selections were made.
On the other hand, India had it far easier as they selected a squad only for conditions in Dubai.
Moreover, Pakistan found themselves becoming the first host country to board an international flight to another country for a fixture of a tournament that they are hosting when they travelled to Dubai to take on India in the group stages of the Champions Trophy.
India’s unfair advantages are there for the whole world to see and many pundits and fans around the world have been vocal this time around.
In the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup, India went into the tournament knowing fully well where they would play the semi-final should they qualify, a privilege only India had.
They knew their semi-final would be in Guyana and selected their squad accordingly and went on to win the World Cup.
The question then becomes – does India have all these advantages in ICC events because they financially contribute more to world cricket than all the other teams combined? Are they flexing their muscles as a result?
A nightmare 18 hours for Proteas & Blackcaps
After beating England in Pakistan on Saturday, South Africa topped Group B and had to travel to Dubai on Sunday morning as they had the possibility of playing India in the semi-final and since India was only playing in Dubai, South Africa had to make the tough schedule.
When India beat New Zealand in Dubai on Sunday and topped Group A, it meant that South Africa would take on the Blackcaps in the semi-finals in Lahore, Pakistan.
That meant South Africa had to return to Pakistan on Monday morning and so did New Zealand six hours after their encounter with India.
With the spot in the final up for grabs, both South Africa and New Zealand cannot afford to moan about the unfair scheduling and must instead make the necessary means to recover in time for the semi-final that is set for Wednesday.
Proteas premier batter, Heinrich Klaasen, acknowledged the crazy nature of the scheduling but emphasised that it is also the nature of the sport at the highest level.
“It’s obviously just been a crazy 18 hours to be fair,” Klaasen told SportsBoom.com on Monday upon arriving in Lahore.
“Mentally, it’s part of professional cricket at this moment. We just have to suck it up and go back and see if you can recover well and get the job done at the end of the day.”
“(With New Zealand), they played a game, and they had to travel six hours after their game. We at least had that off-time. We could have stretched our legs and just recovered as well before we had to come back.”
“So, in that aspect, there is not a lot of difference. I think our bodies will be in a better position than their bodies.”
The first semi-final will be between India and Australia in Dubai on Tuesday, with the second being in Lahore between South Africa and New Zealand on Wednesday.
The final is set to take place on Sunday. Should India beat Australia in the first semi-final, the final will be played in Dubai.