India’s head coach dismisses talk of his team having an ‘undue advantage’ in the Champions Trophy.
It’s expected that everything surrounding India, whether good or bad, gets amplified. Hardly a press conference goes by during this Champions Trophy without discussion of India’s supposed advantage. Due to geopolitical issues, India hasn’t traveled to Pakistan, the host nation, and has played all their matches – including the final – in Dubai, while other teams have had to travel within Pakistan and then to Dubai to play India.
It’s been suggested that India benefited in two ways: fewer travel bases for their squad and the chance to acclimatize to one ground unlike other teams. Coach Gautam Gambhir seemed annoyed by these insinuations, emphatically dismissing any such advantage even without being directly asked.
Gambhir was asked about knowing Dubai conditions when picking five spinners, three of them all-rounders. Gambhir strongly responded, targeting ‘perpetual cribbers’.
‘Look, this venue is as neutral for us as it is for any other team,’ Gambhir stated. ‘We haven’t played here recently. I don’t recall when we last played here. Our plan was to pick two frontline spinners in the 15-man squad regardless of location, because it’s a subcontinent competition.’
‘It’s not about creating a spin-friendly strategy. We only played one frontline spinner in the first two matches, and two in the following matches.’
‘Regarding the undue advantage debate, what advantage? We haven’t even practiced here for a day. We practice at the ICC Academy, and conditions there are completely different. Some people are just constant complainers and need to grow up. I believe there’s no undue advantage for us.’
It’s fair to say that the defeated captain Steven Smith isn’t one of these complainers. He downplayed India’s advantage before and after the match.
‘I’m not buying into it,’ Smith said. ‘It is what it is. India played excellent cricket here. The pitch suits their spinners and seamers. They played well, outplayed us, and deserved the victory.’
However, the tournament’s leading wicket-taker, Mohammed Shami, mentioned that familiarity with the ground helped him. This doesn’t directly contradict Gambhir, who praised Shami’s preparation. Shami explained his preparations:
‘The main thing is knowing the conditions and pitch behavior well,’ Shami said. ‘Playing at one venue allows you to adapt to conditions. I keep practice simple and bowl according to match pitches.’
Asked about the benefit of playing at the same venue, Shami agreed: ‘Definitely. You learn the conditions, pitch behavior, and even weather impacts your game plan. It’s a plus that all our matches are at the same venue.’
Despite this, India’s unbeaten run to another ICC final will please many. India only lost the 2023 ODI World Cup final, won the 2024 T20 World Cup without losses, and has won all Champions Trophy matches so far. After recent Test cricket challenges, Gambhir celebrated the ‘flawless’ performance but cautioned against overconfidence.
‘You used the word ‘flawlessly,’ which is apt,’ Gambhir acknowledged. ‘But we have one more game. We know we’re a good ODI side, and our hunger, commitment, and desire to do something special are always present.’
‘In international sport, continuous improvement is key. We haven’t ticked all boxes yet. There’s always room for improvement in batting, fielding, and bowling. We haven’t played a perfect game yet, hopefully we can in the final.’
‘I’m never satisfied. We want to improve, stay humble, be ruthless on the field, and humble off it. We aim to create this team environment and culture, being absolutely honest. Hopefully, we can play our best game in the final.’
