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Mohammed Shami Admits Playing In Dubai Is An Advantage

The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 was originally supposed to be held only in Pakistan and Mohammed Shami has recently spoken about it. However, due to tension between Pakistan and India, the Indian cricket team refused to play in the tournament in Pakistan. As ICC had already decided that the 2025 ICC Champions Trophy would be hosted by Pakistan, they decided not to switch the venue but rather let India play their games outside of Pakistan. Dubai was decided as a neutral venue, and the Indian cricket team would play all of their games at the Dubai International Stadium. This article talks about the advantages the Indian team has due to these circumstances.

Mohammed Shami Talks About India Playing In Dubai

Credit: Crictoday

It was Rohit Sharma who was first asked about India having an advantage in the Champions Trophy as they were playing all their games in the same stadium. However, Rohit Sharma rubbished these claims, saying that Dubai is not a home venue for them. He said:

“No, look, the three matches we played, the nature of the surface was the same. But in all three games, the pitch has behaved differently. In the semi-final, we don’t know which pitch is going to be played. Yes, we don’t know which pitch is going to be played in the semi-final. But whatever happens, we have to adapt and see what is happening. We will play on that. This is not our home, this is Dubai. So, we don’t play so many matches here. This is new for us too.”

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It was Gautam Gambhir’s turn the next day to answer questions regarding India having an advantage due to being the only team in the tournament to play in just one stadium. While Rohit Sharma was dismissive of such statements, Gautam Gambhir was absolutely furious. He accused the people who were making such claims to be ‘cribbers’ and said that playing all their games in the Dubai International Stadium was not giving them any kind of unfair advantage. He said:

“I know, there’s a lot of debate about the undue advantage. But what is an undue advantage? First of all, this is as much of a neutral venue for us as it is for any other team. I don’t remember which tournament we played in this stadium last time. We haven’t practiced here even for a day. We practiced in the ICC Academy. The conditions there and here are 180 degrees different. Some people are just perpetual cribbers. So, I feel we didn’t have any undue advantage”

Head Coach Gautam Gambhir on ‘Undue advantage of playing in Dubai’#ChampionsTrophy #ChampionsTrophy2025 #gautamgambhir pic.twitter.com/TKgHyra2rE

— Anish Gupta (@IamAnishG20) March 4, 2025

However, when Mohammed Shami was asked about this, he had a completely different take on this. Instead of agreeing with Rohit Sharma and Gautam Gambhir, who had already answered this question previously, Shami decided to take a different route. He said that playing in the same stadium was actually a big help in getting to know how the pitch would behave and that this has been an advantage for the Indian cricket team. Mohammed Shami said:

“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. 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”

Mohammed Shami also spoke about being India’s main pacer in the absence of Jasprit Bumrah and if it was putting unnecessary pressure on him. Mohammed Shami said:

“There is a load when you are the one main fast bowler, and the other is an all-rounder. You have to pick wickets and lead from the front. I have become used to this load and am trying my best to make it easy for others and give more than 100 per cent”

For more news and updates on Mohammed Shami, keep reading GutshotMagazine.com. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and Telegram.

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