Australia’s Test and ODI captain Pat Cummins has expressed alarm at India’s perceived strength in the current Champions Trophy 2025. In his view, India’s strategy to host all their games in Dubai gives them an advantage compared to other sides. A hybrid model was adopted by the International Cricket Council (ICC) after the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) declined to take the Indian team to Pakistan on grounds of security.
According to the BCCI, government permission was not given to India to play in Pakistan, due to which all their games were to be held in Dubai. Cummins is not satisfied with this setup, though. In an interview with Yahoo Sports Australia, he complained about India’s solo schedule in Dubai. Although he admitted that making the tournament happen was a top priority, he noted that having all games at one venue would greatly favour India.
“I believe it is a good thing that the tournament can proceed, but of course it does benefit them (India) greatly by playing on the same surface. They are already looking very dominant and they’ve got that very clear advantage of playing all of their matches there,” Pat Cummins said.
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India’s games, including possible knockout games, will be held in Dubai. Even the final, to be held initially in Lahore, will be relocated to Dubai if India reaches it. The Men in Blue have already set off strongly, taking convincing six-wicket victories against Bangladesh and Pakistan, setting themselves firmly up for the semi-finals. Their final group-stage game will be on March 2 against New Zealand.
While Cummins is Australia’s ODI skipper, he is not in the Champions Trophy team because of an ankle injury. He also sat out Australia’s Test and ODI series in Sri Lanka on paternity leave. The pacer is currently rehabilitating and is targeting a comeback in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season, where he will captain Sunrisers Hyderabad.
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Steve Smith has assumed Australia’s leadership role in Cummins’ absence. The Australian fast bowling attack is also short-staffed, with Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood both missing the tournament. This has left Australia with a novice bowling attack, with leg-spinner Adam Zampa the most capped bowler in the team.
In spite of these reverses, Australia started their Champions Trophy campaign on a promising note. They won comfortably over England, chasing down a staggering 352-run target.
