Sourav Ganguly’s smashing reply to Hussain, Atherton over ‘Dubai advantage’: ‘In Pakistan, India would’ve scored…’

Amid India’s run to the semifinal of the 2025 Champions Trophy, the team found themselves in the midst of a furore from experts and few competitors, who claimed that Rohit Sharma and his men had an “undeniable advantage” of playing all their games at one venue – Dubai. However, former India captain Sourav Ganguly fired back at the claims saying that India would have scored more runs had they played in Pakistan.

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.