Flames of 'India's advantage' row burning the brightest ahead of India vs New Zealand final

The cricket fraternity can't get enough of India playing all its fixtures in Dubai at the ICC Champions Trophy. One can term Gautam Gambhir bold or even rash for expressing his true opinions, but at this point, his words sound true as the pundits keep "cribbing." India's "undue advantage," as termed by almost the whole of world cricket, isn't something that cropped up out of the blue. The setting was a culmination of a long-standing tussle between the PCB and the BCCI. After the heinous 26/11 attacks, India has safely opted out of playing in Pakistan. Pakistan winning the hosting rights for the Champions Trophy couldn't change their stance in favor of the team's security.

Highlighting India's advantage is the new way to cover your team's shortcoming at the ICC Champions Trophy

After an intervention by the ICC, Dubai cropped up as the destination for all of India's fixtures in the tournament. The people cribbing about it right now had the option to object to the setting right at the announcement, days before the onset of the tournament. Now, it seems unclear if the public uproar is against India's unbeaten run in the Champions Trophy or if it is truly meant to dissect the situation where every team, barring India, was required to travel across venues in Pakistan and Dubai. As far as "home advantage" goes, the true holders of the title were the defending champions, Pakistan. However, the hosts were the first ones to be knocked out of the tournament.

Over the course of the ICC Champions Trophy, as India claimed commanding victories over Bangladesh, Pakistan, and New Zealand, the voices of Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton kept reverberating. The former English cricketers highlighted the "advantage" that India held in the tournament, avoiding strenuous travel schedules and gaining unmatched acclimatization to the venue. As the tournament progressed and India qualified for the semi-finals and subsequently the final with a win against Australia, more names kept getting added to the list of people speaking against the advantage.

Early names included Australian skipper Pat Cummins and South African player Rassie van der Dussen. Van der Dussen noted that "it's no rocket science" to gauge that India sits with an advantage in the tournament. Most recently, his teammate David Miller spoke against the schedule. As South Africa lost the semi-final against New Zealand by a margin of 50 runs, a gap that Miller's century in the chase couldn't cover, the chatter, once again, shifted to India. Miller noted that the travel from Pakistan to Dubai and back proved tiresome for the players, playing a role in their defeat against the Kiwis.

Michael Vaughan reiterates the "home advantage" for Men in Blue ahead of India vs New Zealand final

Now, another English name has been added to the list. England lost track of their campaign with a defeat against Afghanistan. Interestingly, the team, which did not need to travel to Dubai at all, exiting the campaign at the group stage itself, is especially displeased with the scheduling issue. On the eve of the India vs New Zealand final at the ICC Champions Trophy, Michael Vaughan added fuel to the fire when an X (formerly Twitter) user asked for his prediction for the Champions Trophy 2025 final. His response, laced with sarcasm, was another dig at India’s perceived advantage.

"India will win at their new home venue," Vaughan wrote in his reply.

Indian skipper Rohit Sharma and head coach Gautam Gambhir dismissed the debate in their respective media interactions. The captain subtly informed that the team is not kept aware of the pitch they would play their next fixture on. Gambhir, not as subtle, stated that the "perpetual cribbers" need to grow up. However, the fraternity still sits against the Men in Blue, highlighted by David Miller's admission that he would be supporting the Kiwis in the India vs New Zealand final. Nonetheless, if India manages to topple the Kiwis in the final, the ICC Champions Trophy would be theirs, with no debate strong enough to snatch the credit from them.