Sunil Gavaskar, one of India’s most respected cricketing voices, has strongly criticized former England captains Nasser Hussain and Mike Atherton for their remarks suggesting that India enjoyed an “undeniable advantage” in the Champions Trophy 2025 by playing all their matches in Dubai. Writing in his column for Sportstar, Gavaskar dismissed these claims as baseless and questioned why England, despite hosting four ODI World Cups and three Champions Trophy editions before 2019, failed to win a major ICC trophy until then.
Gavaskar pointed out that the decision to keep India’s matches in Dubai was made by the ICC in December 2024, and any objections should have been raised then, rather than after the tournament had concluded. He emphasized that India’s triumph was a result of their dominant performances throughout the tournament, defeating every opponent they faced.
“Like in the ICC T20 win last year, the Indians beat every team in the Champions Trophy too. If that is not an indication of India being the best, then please let us know what is,” Sunil Gavaskar wrote.
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Taking a direct swipe at the critics, he added, “If ‘home advantage’ was the reason India won, then how come England, from where most of the whingers were, did not win ICC trophies till 2019 despite hosting it about half a dozen times earlier?”
The former Indian captain, who played a key role in India’s 1983 World Cup-winning squad, credited Rohit Sharma’s leadership and India’s squad depth for the team’s historic third Champions Trophy title. He highlighted how different players stepped up at crucial moments, proving that India’s success was built on teamwork rather than external factors.
“India won simply because it had a well-balanced team, and at different times in the tournament, different players played a game-changing role in the team’s win. Above all, there was the captaincy of Rohit Sharma, who, in winning two ICC titles as captain, has joined the incomparable MS Dhoni in winning multiple titles as skipper of the Indian cricket team,” Sunil Gavaskar remarked.
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Gavaskar also put an end to speculations about Rohit Sharma’s future, confirming that the Indian captain had no immediate plans to retire, reinforcing his intent to continue leading India in the years ahead.
