‘If Home Advantage Is The Reason India Won CT Then…’: Sunil Gavaskar Roasts Ex-England Captains
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Reacting to Nasser Hussain and Mike Atherton’s claims, Gavaskar asked if India won the Champions Trophy due to home advantage, then why was England not able to win any major trophy till 2019 despite hosting four ODI World Cups and three Champions Trophy events?
Sunil Gavaskar slams former England captains. (Picture Credit: AFP)
Legendary Indian batter and former captain Sunil Gavaskar slammed former England captains Nasser Hussain and Mike Atherton after they claimed that the Indian men’s cricket team was handed an “undeniable advantage” in the Champions Trophy 2025 by playing all their matches at one venue—Dubai. In his column for Sportstar after India’s four-wicket win over New Zealand in the final played on Sunday (March 9), Gavaskar said if home advantage was the reason for India’s win in the Champions Trophy, then why was England not able to win any major trophy till 2019 despite hosting four ODI World Cups and three Champions Trophy events?
According to Gavaskar, the decision to host India’s matches in Dubai was taken by the ICC in December 2024, and all these “negative comments” should have been made then.
“Like in the ICC T20 win last year, the Indians beat every team in the Champions Trophy too, and if that is not an indication of India being the best, then please let us know what is.”
“Yes, there will be the carpers who talked about the advantage India had playing only at one venue and not having to travel between matches. However, that was decided by the ICC much before the tournament started, and any negative comment about that should have happened before the tournament’s first ball was bowled.”
“And if ‘home advantage’ is the reason India won, then how come England, from where most of the whingers were, did not win ICC trophies till 2019 despite hosting it about half a dozen times earlier?” Gavaskar asked.
The member of the 1983 ODI World Cup-winning Indian team said that the Rohit Sharma-led side won the Champions Trophy for the record-extending third time because multiple players stepped up to contribute to the team’s win.
“India won simply because it had a well-balanced team, and at different times in the tournament, different players played a game-changing role in the team’s win. Above all, there was the captaincy of Rohit Sharma, who, in winning two ICC titles as captain, has joined the incomparable MS Dhoni in winning multiple titles as skipper of the Indian cricket team. Rohit also squashed rumours about his impending retirement, saying he has not decided to retire from the format.”
