Mohammed Shami breaks silence on India’s Champions Trophy 2025 one-venue debate, pacer says ‘It is a plus point…’
Hours after India head coach Gautam Gambhir shut down the debate about India’s undue advantage of playing all their Champions Trophy 2025 games at a single venue, veteran pacer Mohammed Shami opined that it had been a blessing in disguise for him.
Although Pakistan is the host of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, India are playing all their games in Dubai after BCCI refused to send the team across the border due to security reasons.
The decision irked a few cricketers like Naseer Hussain, Michael Atherton, Jos Buttler and Rassie van der Dussen. They took a dig at the Indian team, stating the Men in Blue were given an undeniable advantage of playing all their games at the same venue.
Mohammed Shami, making a comeback to an ICC tournament for the first time after the 2023 ODI World Cup final, confessed that playing at a single venue has helped him understand the conditions better.
“It has definitely helped us because we know the conditions and the behaviour of the pitch. It is a plus point that you are playing all the matches at one venue,” Mohammed Shami said after the game.
“The main thing is to gauge the conditions and know how the pitch behaves because you are playing at one venue, and you can get to know it well,” added the 34-year-old pacer who took a five-wicket haul against Bangladesh during India’s Champions Trophy 2025 opener.
Mohammed Shami leads from front
Returning from a long 14-month injury lay-off, Mohammed Shami was included in the Indian squads for both T20I and ODI series against England at home. Although he couldn’t achieve much success there, the Bengal pacer has been spot-on in the Champions Trophy 2025.
In the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami led from the front, picking up a five-wicket haul in the first match against Bangladesh. Although he went wicketless in the next two games against Pakistan and New Zealand, he played a crucial role in stopping the run-flow in both matches.
In the semifinal against Australia, Mohammed Shami took three wickets, including the prized scalp of Steve Smith.
What did Gautam Gambhir say?
On Tuesday, Gautam Gambhir denied having any undue advantage in the Champions Trophy 2025 and said the Indian team had not even trained at the match venue.
“There’s no undue advantage in India playing in Dubai. This venue is as neutral for us as it is for the others. We haven’t even practised once at this ground as of now. We practised at the ICC Academy,” Gautam Gambhir told reporters during the post-match press conference.
