Sourav Ganguly's fierce rebuttal to Hussain, Atherton over 'Dubai advantage': 'In Pakistan, India would've dominated...'

During India's journey to the semifinals of the 2025 Champions Trophy, controversy arose as critics and some rivals alleged that Rohit Sharma's team had an unfair advantage by playing all their matches at a single venue - Dubai. Former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly swiftly refuted these claims by stating that India could have potentially scored even more runs if they had played in Pakistan instead.

The furore was sparked after England greats Nasser Hussain and Mike Atherton took a dig at the Indian team for having an advantage in playing all their games in Dubai, contrary to the rest of the participants, some of whom have to travel between two countries to play their matches. Among active players, England captain Jos Buttler and South Africa batter Rassie van der Dussen also claimed the same.

Notably, the Indian government did not allow the national team to travel to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy owing to political and security reasons. BCCI, hence, proposed the hybrid model, and Dubai was picked as the neutral venue for all their matches

However, Ganguly gave a smashing reply to the claim on Sunday on the sidelines of a CAB event. He said: "The pitches in Pakistan are much better. India would've scored more runs there."

Comparing pitches in Dubai and Pakistan

Ganguly couldn't be more right. In the seven games played in Pakistan across three cities—Lahore, Karachi, and Rawalpindi—teams have averaged 34.96, with eight centuries and 17 fifties. Two of those centuries made it to the top of the highest individual scores in Champions Trophy history. And, in six of the 14 innings, teams have scored a 300-plus total.

On the contrary, in Dubai, teams have averaged just 28 across the three games, with three centuries. And, India (249) in the match against New Zealand had the highest team total in six innings.

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