According to former cricket players, India would unfairly benefit from the “hybrid model” for the ICC Champions Trophy next month since all of its matches will be played at the same location.
Due to political and security concerns, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) refused to send its squad to Pakistan, where the tournament was supposed to take place from February 19 to March 9.
The hybrid model was decided upon after weeks of deadlock, with India playing all of its matches in Dubai, including a semifinal and final if it qualified.
Shane Watson, a former Australian all-rounder, described India’s choice to skip Pakistan as “unfortunate.”
According to former cricket players, the Indian team will gain from holding its Champions Trophy matches at a single location.
The announcement of the final schedule was delayed because India was reluctant to travel to Pakistan for the event.
India benefits much from this arrangement.
The Indian team would play all of its games at one location, while other teams would go to Dubai and three different locations in Pakistan.
Additionally, the Indian squad would be familiar with the location of their semi-final encounter.
Salim Altaf, a former fast bowler for Pakistan, believes that India has a significant advantage.
“Only India knows where it will play in the semifinals and final; the other teams won’t know until the group stage is over,” Mr. Altaf informs Dawn.
In both knockout matches, India will also benefit from being accustomed to the Dubai pitch, allowing them to prepare appropriately.
However, its group rivals, Bangladesh, New Zealand, and Pakistan, would need to get their players ready to play in two separate countries with distinct pitches and conditions.
Intikhab Alam, the former captain of Pakistan, tells Dawn that India will not move from one location to another like other teams do.
Mr. Alam, who managed Pakistan’s squad during the 1992 ODI World Cup and the 2009 T20 World Cup triumphs, adds, “It will avoid the logistics of travel besides getting similar kinds of pitches and cricketing environment at one venue.” “The other teams are not treated fairly.”
Pakistan’s only consolation is that they will receive the same treatment for the 2026 T20 World Cup, which will be held in India and Sri Lanka. All of their matches, including the knockout stages, will take place in Sri Lanka.
Mr. Alam laments that “the model is inherently unfair for other competing nations.” “I find it surprising that the other cricket boards did not object.”
This is not the first time, though, that a tournament calendar has been crafted to benefit India, the global game’s financial powerhouse.
It was predetermined that India would play their semi-final in Guyana regardless of their position on the table in the T20 World Cup in the US and West Indies last year, which they won.
India’s campaign in the 2019 ODI World Cup started after every other team had played their opening match. They played the final group match in the 2021 and 2022 T20 World Cups and the 2023 ODI World Cup, which gave them the advantage of knowing what would happen if qualification came down to the last minute.
India will have a comparable schedule for the tournament next month. Three days after Bangladesh and Pakistan wrap off their group-stage matches, it will play its final group match against New Zealand on March 2.
“Only remedy”
At India’s insistence, the British publication Telegraph referred to these arrangements as unprecedented.
Tim Wigmore, the newspaper’s cricket writer, said in his column last week that “the extraordinary situation might be unprecedented across sport: one country effectively having the power to stop another from hosting a final as already agreed.”
“This episode is more about power than anything else; it’s a straightforward illustration of India’s ability to control the cricket world.”
According to Mohammad Ilyas, a former top selector for Pakistan, “bending to India’s will” was the only way to resolve the issue.
Mr. Ilyas tells Dawn that the ICC should “serve international cricket in a better way” and that it should be instrumental in reviving bilateral cricket between the two nations.
