As Pakistan departed Dubai and New Zealand readied itself for a visit to the Emirates, the absurdity of what is clearly a compromised Champions Trophy came into full view.
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In a tournament it is hosting, Pakistan’s defence of the Champions Trophy came with a whimper at a venue 2,000km from home against its arch-rival India.
And Australian captain Pat Cummins, who is missing the tournament, is among those mindful that in this Champions Trophy, it is advantage India in every regard.
“I think it’s good that the tournament can go on, but obviously it does give India a huge advantage playing on the same ground,” Cummins told Australian press.
“They already look very strong and they’ve got that obvious benefit of playing all their games there.”
New Zealand, which are the third favourites to win the Champions Trophy behind India and Australia, secured a spot in the semifinal of the tournament by beating Bangladesh.
They will play India, which was granted the right to play exclusively in Dubai for security reasons, on Sunday there and then return to Pakistan for a semifinal next week.
It is entirely possible, based on form, that they will then return to the Middle East to play India in the final of the ICC Champions Trophy hosted by Pakistan … in Dubai.
Having started the tournament with a win over Pakistan in Karachi, they defeated Bangladesh in Rawalpindi, which is more than 1,100km away.
It is nearly 2,000km to Dubai for the round-robin bout with India. The Kiwis then have to travel that distance back to Pakistan for a semifinal next Wednesday.
If they manage to survive for the final, and it is played in Dubai, they will have travelled up to 8,000km from the time the tournament began with two international trips thrown in.
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And if not New Zealand, it is probable that either Australia and South Africa will also visit Dubai for a sudden-death final after playing the rest of the event around Pakistan.
While every pundit agrees it is better for world cricket that India is playing the Champions Trophy, this event will always carry an asterisk as a result.
In a chat with another ex-England captain in Mike Atherton, former skipper Nasser Hussain outlined the reasons why India are advantaged in this Champions Trophy.
It is not only to do with travel, but also in terms of being able to select a squad certain of the characteristics of the spinning-friendly conditions they will confront in Dubai.
“So the best team in the tournament has that advantage,” he said on Sky Sports.
“I saw a tweet the other day saying, ‘Pakistan host nation, India home advantage’. And that sort of sums it up. They’re in one place. They’re in one hotel. There is no travel. They are in the one dressing room. They know the pitch. They’ve picked for that pitch.
“I think (with) selection, when they selected, they were very smart. They probably knew what Dubai was going to be like. They picked all their spinners. There was a bit of debate … from Indian media saying, ‘What haven’t you gone for the extra seamer? Why all these spinners?’ Well, we’ve seen why. And other sides have not done that.
“Pakistan … had one frontline spinner, you could argue. When the injuries came, they should have changed that, and I’ve made that argument.
“But all the other sides have to pick for different conditions (in) Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Dubai, and then they have to travel and adjust to those conditions. So it is an advantage. But … once India refused to come here to Pakistan, what else could happen?
“You can’t have a tournament about this without India (or) Pakistan. That’s not going to happen. So it had to be in Dubai, and they sit happily and comfortably there, knowing that they’re going to, you know, probably play six games there, and if they win all those, they’ll win another global tournament.”
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It is not the first time India have been seen to be favoured in an ICC ODI competition in the past 18 months, but at least in 2023 they were the hosts of the World Cup.
There was some grumbling in that tournament that India, which played superbly at home until beaten by Australia in the final, received preferential treatment at home.
It may have been perception only, but there is an argument that the hosts received decent breaks between matches and also drew the weakest opponent in the last round of the marathon round-robin stages, which helped with their planning for the event.
While India had played the last match in T20 World Cups in 2016, 2021 and 2022, the only time it had happened previously in the post-2000 era in ODI World Cups was 2011.
It was also reported by the Mumbai Express that the pitch at Wankhede Stadium prior to a semifinal against New Zealand had the grass shaved from it to make it slower, which prompted condemnation from Fox Cricket expert Michael Vaughan.
The concerns about this tournament were raised as far back as January after it was confirmed India would be based in Dubai as a compromise given security reasons.
Aside from the history between the two nations, the impact of the 2008 terrorist attack in Mumbai shook India and the world and is a reason for the nation’s reluctance to play in Pakistan.
But whether it is fair is another matter. In January The Times of India reported concerns from former Pakistan Test bowler Salim Altaf about the situation.
“India is the only team that knows where it will play the semi-finals and the final, while the other teams will only know once the group stage is completed,” he said.
“Unlike other teams, India will not go from venue to venue. It will avoid the logistics of travel besides getting similar kinds of pitches and a cricketing environment at one venue.
“It is not fair on other teams. It is surprising to me that the other cricket boards did not raise any objections.”
English journalist Jonathan Agnew said last weekend that forcing Pakistan to play India in Dubai in a tournament it is hosting made a “farce” of the event.
“I feel very uncomfortable about the way that India is being treated at the moment. This is wrong,” he told the ABC.
“If you’re going to play international tournaments, you can’t pick and choose where you play and where you’re not going to play. I don’t see how long this can carry on for. It makes a farce of these tournaments.”
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India still have to get the job done and while their depth is incredible, the competition is set to get tougher for the remainder of the Champions Trophy.
Atherton, while certain they are advantaged, said it is difficult to quantify how much the short-priced favourites for the Champions Trophy are benefiting from being able to use Dubai as a home away from home in this tournament.
“The advantage India has in playing in Dubai, only in Dubai, which seems to me to be a hard to quantify advantage, but an undeniable advantage,” he said on Sky Sports.
“They’re playing at just one venue. They don’t have to travel either between venues or, you know, between countries, as a lot of other teams have to do. Therefore the selection can focus on the conditions in Dubai, and obviously they’ll know where they’re playing their semi final as and when they get through to that, that seems to me to be an undeniable advantage.
“But, you know, kind of hard to quantify how big, how big an advantage.”
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