Former India captain Sunil Gavaskar has criticized former England skippers Nasser Hussain and Mike Atherton for alleging that India had an “undeniable advantage” in the Champions Trophy 2025 by playing all their matches at a single venue, Dubai.
In his column for Sportstar after India’s four-wicket win over New Zealand in the final on Sunday (March 9), Gavaskar refuted these claims, questioning why England failed to win any major ICC trophy until 2019 despite hosting several tournaments.
He pointed out that the International Cricket Council (ICC) had made the decision in December 2024 to schedule all of India’s matches in Dubai, and critics should have voiced concerns before the tournament started.
“Like in the ICC T20 win last year, the Indians beat every team in the Champions Trophy too, and if that is not an indication of India being the best, then please let us know what is,” Gavaskar said.
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“Yes, there will be the carpers who talked about the advantage India had playing only at one venue and not having to travel between matches. However, that was decided by the ICC much before the tournament started, and any negative comment about that should have happened before the tournament’s first ball was bowled,” he added.
“And if ‘home advantage’ is 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?” Gavaskar questioned.
Sunil Gavaskar Praises India’s effort in Champions Trophy
The former cricketer, who was part of India’s 1983 World Cup-winning squad, credited the team’s depth and collective performances for their record third Champions Trophy title.
“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,” Gavaskar added.
