Legendary Indian cricketer Sunil Gavaskar has once again fired back at the former England captains Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton after their criticism of India’s successful ICC Champions Trophy 2025 campaign in Dubai.
Sunil Gavaskar slammed Atherton and Hussain’s claims that India had an “unfair advantage” by playing all their CT 2025 matches in Dubai.
The debate over the so-called unfair advantage had begun with the Australian skipper Pat Cummins, who pointed out the Men in Blue’s fixed venue for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Later, Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton turned it into a full-blown controversy.
Sunil Gavaskar destroys Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton over ICC Champions Trophy 2025 controversy
Atherton and Hussain’s sensational statements fueled the controversy, with several former and current cricketers questioning the ICC’s scheduling, while the media in Australia and South Africa accused the BCCI of using influence over the event’s arrangements.
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Even England’s former captain Jos Buttler and South Africa batter Rassie van der Dussen also mocked the Men in Blue for having the home-like advantage in the prestigious tournament. But Gavaskar has now shut down all the cries by saying that if anyone had an issue, they should have raised the matter before the tournament even began.
Sunil Gavaskar shuts down home advantage cry with blistering statement
The former Indian skipper has made it clear that the ICC decided to stage the CT 2025 under a hybrid model with Dubai hosting India’s all matches in advance, so crying foul after India’s historic title triumph only looked like sour grapes.
Sunil Gavaskar wrote in his column in Sportstar: “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.”
Sunil Gavaskar questions why England didn’t win before the 2019 ODI World Cup
Taking an even sharper dig at the critics, Gavaskar has also highlighted England’s own history in ICC events, as he reminded them if a “home advantage” was all it took to win, they should have dominated world cricket long before their 2019 World Cup victory at home, given how often they’ve hosted major tournaments over the years.
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The Indian cricket legend further noted, “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 praises Rohit Sharma’s decision not to retire from ODIs
Gavaskar was also happy that Rohit dismissed all retirement rumors by confirming he hasn’t decided to call time on his ODI career. With the ICC Cricket World Cup 2027 in South Africa ahead, the cricket pundit suggested the Indian selectors be careful with team decisions.
He signed off by saying, “Seeing Rohit receive the Champions Trophy from ICC Chairman Jay Shah was a joyous moment for all Indian cricket lovers, and they will forever be indebted to the team for giving them this cherished visual.”
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