Former England cricketers Michael Atherton, Nasser Hussain and David Lloyd along with current cricketers Jos Buttler and David Miller lashed out their frustration at India’s ‘home advantage’ in Champions Trophy 2025. History suggests differently.
Several England legends didn’t shy away from crying foul on India playing all of its Champions Trophy matches at Dubai International Stadium. Due to security reasons, BCCI denied travelling to Pakistan for the mega tournament and informed ICC about the same. Eventually, an agreement was made that the Rohit Sharma-led side would play all its Champions Trophy matches in Dubai. In return, Pakistan won’t be playing any of its T20 World Cup 2026 matches in India but in Sri Lanka.
The matter wasn’t discussed again before some of the England legends brought it back before the semi-final between India and Australia in Dubai. They complained that the Men in Blue were handed ‘home advantage’ after ICC permitted them to play all their matches in one single venue – Dubai.
England didn’t even qualify for the semi-final but that didn’t stop the likes of Michael Atherton, Nasser Hussain, David Llyod and Jos Buttler from commenting on India’s road to the final and them playing in only one venue.
“About the advantage India have in playing in Dubai, only in Dubai, which seems to me to be a hard-to-quantify advantage but an undeniable advantage…They are playing at just one venue. They do not have to travel between venues or, you know, between countries as a lot of other teams have to do,” Atherton said.
“It is an advantage. For the best team in the tournament to have that advantage…I saw a tweet the other day: Pakistan – host nation, India – home advantage. That sort of sums it up, really,” Nasser added.
“It’s really embarrassing that this is one of the most important events in world cricket, and the playing arrangements are laughable. You have teams flying here and there, unsure of where they’ll play next. It’s just nonsense. This is a world event, and it should be organized properly,” Lloyd remarked in a video posted on X.
England’s hypocrisy exposed
None of these England legends commented on the fact that the Indian team travelled approximately 11,727 kilometres during the ODI World Cup 2023 – the most by any team in the tournament. Despite playing in nine different venues in the league stage, the Rohit Sharma-led side qualified for the final. England, on the other hand, was far away from even the semi-final race.
During the T20 World Cup 2024, the Indian team travelled 6700 kms and played across seven venues, whereas England played only in four venues and didn’t travel to the United States of America at all.
If that’s not all, South Africa played all their Champions Trophy 2009 matches in Centurion but despite so, the Proteas didn’t make it to the semi-final. David Miller, who recently complained about India’s advantage in the Champions Trophy and stated that he will support New Zealand in the final, needs to check the 2009 Champions Trophy schedule.
Pakistan, on the other hand, will play their T20 World Cup matches in Sri Lanka in 2026 and most likely all their games will be played in Colombo. So, even in Pakistan’s case, they will be well aware of the conditions and their semi-final venue, well in advance.