Former West Indies international Andy Roberts criticized the International Cricket Board (ICC) for meeting every demand set out by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) for the just concluded ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
With Dubai hosting all of India’s games, the tournament was run in a hybrid format with Pakistan as the official hosts. The ICC board meeting decided this; throughout the 2024-2027 cycle, all games scheduled for India hosted in Pakistan would be played at a neutral site.
Speaking with Mid-Day, the West Indies pace great criticized the ICC for providing India an edge in the Champions Trophy with their games in Dubai and also the T20 World Cup 2024, when India knew ahead of time that their semi-final clash against England would take place in Guyana.
“Something has to give—India can’t have it all. The ICC sometimes got to reject India. India even had one upper hand last year at T20 World Cup since they had prior knowledge on where their semifinals would be held, Nature shared.
“India did not have to go at all for the Champions Trophy. Asked Roberts on Sunday, could a team stay put in a game?
Roberts even stated that the ICC panders to their wishes and the BCCI has all the power.
To me, the International Cricket Council means the Indian Cricket Board. everything is handed down by India. Part of the side in the 1975, 1979, and 1983 World Cups, 74-year-old Roberts said, ‘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.”
Earlier on, former England captain Michael Atherton also argued that India benefited greatly from playing all their matches in Dubai throughout the Champions Trophy.
“Only in Dubai, which strikes me as a difficult to quantify asset but an obvious one, India play in Dubai; They are performing at only one site. ” Atherton inquired on Sky Sports: They don’t have to travel either between venues or between countries, as a lot of other teams have to do.
Legendary individuals like Wasim Akram thought differently; they argued that the Indian team were so strong that it hardly mattered where they played at first.
Akram remarked on the Dressing Room show, “This Indian team would have won it anywhere in the world.”
“Definitely, there were a great many conversations, but once it was established that India would compete in Dubai and should they play in Pakistan, they would also have won there,” he went on.
