#ChampionsTrophy2025 : Did ICC Take Sheen Of The tournament With It’s Incomprehensible Scheduling, No Level Playing Field ?

Team India under Rohit Sharma ended their 12- year jinx as they lifted the Champions Trophy 2025 in grand style by beating New Zealand in the final by 4 wickets in Dubai .

But unfortunately India’s win came in tournament where the  ICC  had become  butt of  joke thanks to it’s weird scheduling and the hybrid model . Hosted by Pakistan  sine India refused to travel to Pakistan citing security concerns . India were given the luxury of playing all their five matches , the three league games and the semis, final in Dubai . This  created furore suggesting advantage for Team India  and their win was virtually assured.

Barring India others teams  like  England,  Australia , Afghanistan, South Africa, New Zealand , Pakistan, Bangladesh  played at stadiums like Karachi, Rawalpindi,  Lahore. And in order to play India  had to fly to Dubai like  New Zealand did in their league game ( last one) before playing the semis against South Africa in Lahore . Australia , a depleted one under Steve Smith played all games in Pakistan but had to fly down to Dubai to take on India in the semis. Bottomline in the tournament was anyone who wanted to play India had to fly to Dubai . If this was not special or advantage then what really is ? .

This special advantage  to India given all their matches in Dubai has  raised  doubts that the team  apparently knew  first hand the conditions well in advance in Dubai.  Hence  to the surprise of many when the teams were announced  packed the side with four spinners  with three left- arm ones –  Axar Patel,  Kuldeep Yadav, Ravindra Jadeja and a  leg spinner in Varun Chakravarthy.   It was a very astute selection that proved  very handy at the end as other teams  struggled to fit in spinners in the playing eleven.

Advantage India  voices did not come from ordinary names but icons of the game  in their heydays .  Member of the famous West Indies pace quartet Andy Roberts  was quoted as saying – At the Champions Trophy, India did not have to travel at all. How can a team not travel during a tournament

Roberts highlighted the lack of fairness in the eight-team tournament where others teams were forced to travel from Pakistan to face India in the United Arab Emirates.

“It is not fair, it’s not cricket. There has to be a level playing field. I know a lot of money comes from India, but cricket ought not to be a one-country sport. It now looks like a one-nation competition and the playing field is not level. To me, the ICC stands for the Indian Cricket Board. India dictates everything. If tomorrow, India says, ‘listen there should be no no-balls and wides,’ take my word, the ICC will find a way to satisfy India,” Roberts lamented.

Roberts team- mate batting  legend Viv Richards  hit out at the ICC and sought answers from them regarding the scheduling  when he reportedly  said : “But I believe the people who are responsible, in terms of the governing and the ruling of the game in itself which is the ICC, they’re the ones who I think got the problem.”

“I would like them to come up with an answer, why? If they are the governing body of cricket, why is that happening at present? I honestly believe one of the things that can bring all of us together, fans and everyone, even enemies together, (is) sports.”

And perhaps no one summed up the scheduling horror in the Champions trophy 2025 than South African David Miller , He  voiced his displeasure at the International Cricket Council (ICC) for the scheduling of the 2025 Champions Trophy.

Miller’s comments came after South Africa’s defeat to New Zealand in the semi-finals .  The strange scheduling of the Champions Trophy forced both Australia and South Africa to travel from Pakistan to Dubai after the group stage, in preparation for a possible semi-final clash against India.

“It’s only a 1 hour and 40-minute flight, but the fact that we had to do that was not ideal,” Miller said after South Africa’s exit from the tournament. The South African team flew from Karachi to Dubai on Sunday afternoon and returned to Lahore on Monday.

“It was early morning, right after a game, and we had to fly. We got to Dubai at 4:00 pm, and by 7:30 am, we had to return. It wasn’t the best situation. It’s not like we flew five hours and had enough time to recover and recuperate; it was just not an ideal scenario,” he added.

So  viewers it is high time the  ICC shows some spine and not  bend and give in to powerful Boards ( BCCI) . It has to in the larger fairness of the game  give a  level playing field  to all teams.   It is indeed  shocking to see that  hosts Pakistan did not have any representative on the stage post final for the Trophy ceremony.  Then only an ICC tournament  will be appreciate and applauded  and not  face severe criticism like the Champions Trophy 2025 . Given the way ICC has  met BCCI wishes it is in danger of been termed – I ( India), C (Cricket) C ( Control).