Australia captain Pat Cummins, who’s out of the Champions Trophy as he nurses an injury, has said India have a “huge advantage” to be based in Dubai for the ongoing Champions Trophy while other countries have to travel around Pakistan for their group games in the tournament, while the countries in India’s group have to travel to Dubai too.
All of India’s Champions Trophy games are staged at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, while the other seven teams crisscross Pakistan.
Cummins told Yahoo Australia: “I think it’s good in that the tournament can go on, but obviously it does give them (India) a huge advantage playing on the same ground. They already look very strong and they’ve got that obvious benefit of playing all their games there.”
The hybrid model of the tournament is such that the final will be held in Dubai if India go the distance. This was done after India refused to travel to Pakistan, the original hosts of the event, citing security concerns.
India have won both their games, against Bangladesh and Pakistan, comfortably so far and are through to the semifinal. Their last group match is on Sunday against New Zealand, a team that has played in Pakistan so far and has also won both of its games.
Aussie skipper Cummins gave the Champions Trophy a miss to be at home for the birth of his second child and rest a niggling ankle injury. It has granted him precious time with his family and a chance to work on a return to cricket.
“It’s been nice to be at home with everything going on and the ankle rehab is tracking well, so I will start running and bowling this week,” Cummins reported. “There’s the IPL (next month) and then we’ve got the Test World Championship and a tour to the West Indies, so there’s a lot to look forward to.”
