India is not playing the Champions Trophy 2025 tournament in Pakistan due to security reasons. All the matches of the Indian team’s Champions Trophy are being played in Dubai. Meanwhile, England captain Jos Buttler has created a ruckus with one of his big statements. England captain Jos Buttler has an objection to the fact that India is playing all its matches of ICC Champions Trophy 2025 at the same venue Dubai. Regarding this, Jos Buttler has taken a dig at Team India.
India is playing all its matches at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, where the pitches are helping their spin bowlers a lot. Jos Buttler was recently asked about the advantage of Team India playing at the same venue Dubai. In response, the England captain called it a ‘unique tournament’ in which a team is playing its matches outside the official host country. He also said that he is not very worried about it and is only thinking about the match against Afghanistan.
Too Many Questions Raised on India Playing in Dubai
After refusing to play in Pakistan citing security concerns, India is playing all its matches of the Champions Trophy at the Dubai International Stadium under the hybrid model. Other teams have to go to Dubai to play matches with India and then travel back to Pakistan for the next match. After Australian captain Pat Cummins, now England captain Jos Buttler has also indirectly raised big questions to the ICC regarding this.
England Skipper Jos Buttler took a dig at the ICC
Jos Buttler said, ‘I think this is a unique tournament. Here one team is playing at another venue, but this is not something I am very worried about at the moment. My entire focus is on preparing well for the match against Afghanistan.’ India’s participation in the Champions Trophy has been a matter of controversy, as the team refused to travel to Pakistan due to political tensions. As a result, all of India’s matches, including the potential final, are being played in Dubai, while other teams will have to travel between Pakistan and Dubai for their matches.
Pat Cummins had also questioned ICC regarding the same
Earlier, Australian captain Pat Cummins, who is currently out of the ICC Champions Trophy, had said, ‘India has got a big advantage of playing on the same ground. They are already looking very strong, and they have got a clear advantage of playing all their matches there (Dubai).’ In the two matches played so far in the ICC Champions Trophy, Indian spinners Kuldeep Yadav and Axar Patel have taken three wickets each. Fast bowler Mohammed Shami is the highest wicket-taker with five wickets, followed by Harshit Rana (4 wickets) and Hardik Pandya (2 wickets).
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Mike Atherton and Nasser Hussain believes India is benefited
A lot of talks are happening and questions are raised on India getting an advantage of playing their all games on the same ground. Let us tell you that this comment of Butler has come after the comments of former England captains Mike Atherton and Nasser Hussain in which he said that India has the advantage of playing in the same conditions in Dubai and not traveling like other teams.
Do or die match between England and Afghanistan today
The England team will play its second group stage match against Afghanistan in Lahore today. On Tuesday, the Australia vs South Africa match was washed out due to rain and both teams have been given 1-1 points. In this situation, today’s match between England and Afghanistan is a do or die situation. Whichever team loses this match will be out of the race for the semi-finals because both teams have lost their opening match.