Former England captains Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton sparked anger within the Indian cricket community earlier this week after claiming that the Rohit Sharma-led team enjoys an “undeniable advantage” by playing all its matches at a single venue, unlike the other teams in the 2025 Champions Trophy. Former India cricketer Wasim Jaffer responded sharply, reminding the duo of India’s experience in the 2023 ODI World Cup.
India’s government barred travel to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy, leading to a hybrid model with Dubai as their neutral venue. On the Sky Sports Podcast, Nasser and Atherton noted this gave India an edge, avoiding travel logistics and varying conditions.Jaffer, however, mocked their comments, suggesting that, to appease them, India should now stay in different hotels for each match.
“To keep everyone satisfied, the ICC could have arranged for India to play one match in Sharjah and another in Abu Dhabi, perhaps even allowing them to stay in a different hotel. If that had happened, this issue likely wouldn’t have arisen. After all, if India doesn’t want to participate, then each country has the right to decide for itself,” he commented.
“India, due to political reasons or government involvement, has chosen not to go. So, what are our options? We want India and Pakistan to play in this tournament, but a tournament without India simply isn’t viable. To avoid this ongoing discussion, India could have played in Abu Dhabi and Sharjah, staying at a separate hotel to prevent these talks from continuing.”
Jaffer’s retort referred to the 2023 ICC tournament, where India played across nine venues, traveling 12,874 km in 35 days with only two breaks over four days.
“During the ODI World Cup 2023 , India competed at nine separate stadiums. India didn’t have back-to-back matches, whereas other teams did, yet we never highlighted that. For instance, Pakistan had consecutive games in Hyderabad, and Bangladesh played back-to-back in Kolkata. But we didn’t bring that up. Ultimately, winning the tournament comes down to playing quality cricket and performing when it matters most,” he added.