Published: Mar 01, 2025, 12:48 PM (IST)
Edited: Mar 01, 2025, 12:52 PM (IST)
Former England captains Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton had earlier accused India for having an unfair advantage in the Champions Trophy 2025. Since then, Australian skipper Pat Cummins and South African batter Rassie van der Dussen have also accused the schedule of the tournament to be ‘a huge advantage to India.’
The reply from the Indian side has been nothing less. Firstly, former Indian opener Wasim Jaffer took a hit at the critics had stated that the team should have changed hotels in Dubai for people to stop complaining. Now, Indian legend Sunil Gavaskar has also said that people should stop complaining and focus on their own team’s performance.
As he took a shot towards England for getting eliminated from the Champions Trophy after facing defeats to Australia and Afghanistan, Gavaskar stated that Hussain and Atherton should stop constantly focusing on India and look for the reasons why their own team has not qualified.
“I think these are all wise and experienced people. Why don’t you actually look at why your team has not qualified? That’s what I was going to ask you, sir. Rather than constantly focusing on India, are you even looking at your own backyard? Your players are in such a fragile mental state-they don’t seem to care about results as long as they meet certain expectations,” Gavaskar told India Today.
“You must care about results. You must care for your country, for any team you play for. If you are playing for your country, the responsibility is even greater. All the time, they are moaning — ‘India has got this, India has got that.’ It’s constant. We must just ignore it. Let them keep mourning. We have better things to focus on. That is the kind of attitude you must have,” he added.
Indian team is the only one playing all their matches at the same venue (Dubai International Stadium in UAE) as the government did not allow the team to travel to Pakistan. Hussain and Atherton stated that this has given the Men in Blue a significant advantage over the other teams, as they are travelling to different venues to play their matches.
For those who do not know, even though India has been accused of playing their matches at the same venue, England themselves lost both their matches wen playing on the same venue- Lahore. Australia and Afghanistan are also the teams who played two out of their three matches at the same venue.
