IND vs NZ Champions Trophy Final | Why are fans 'hate-watching' Indian cricket?

Dubai and the Indian Cricket Team are the two focal points of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. Even though Pakistan is the designated host of the eight-tournament, Dubai will stage the mega final between India and New Zealand this Sunday; fans worldwide, barring from India, are going all out against it, 'hate-watching' Indian cricket.

So, how did Dubai come into Champions Trophy picture?

After the ICC finalised Pakistan as the host for the first showpiece event of the year, the Indian cricket body BCCI refused to send its team across the border due to security concerns.

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The BCCI formally informed the apex body about its decision late last year, later persuading them to convince the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to accept the hybrid model for India to play, which they were already familiar with, having co-hosted the 2023 Asia Cup along with Sri Lanka.

The PCB sternly rejected this offer initially, urging the ICC to convince India to travel to Pakistan like every other participating nation. After receiving a firm no from its counterpart, the PCB eventually accepted the hybrid model, and India confirmed its participation. The ICC and the PCB zeroed in on Dubai as the neutral venue to host all India matches.

Soon, the tournament itinerary was out, and India, placed in Group A, was scheduled to play all its matches in Dubai, including the knockouts.

The ICC formulated the schedule in such a way that, should India qualify for the semis, regardless of where they finish on the points table, they will face their opponents in Dubai on a fixed date. This was seen by some critics as a mockery of the regular system that used to determine who faces who in the last four of an ICC event.

Unaware of the upcoming logistical challenges, all participating teams kept quiet about the schedule earlier. But trouble began once the tournament began and every team in India’s group, including the host Pakistan, started to travel back and forth to Dubai.

While every other team had to change hotels, venues and training grounds regularly, India had the privilege of staying put at the same hotel in Dubai, practice at the same training ground and, importantly, play all their matches at the same venue, requiring less effort to acclimatise to the conditions compared to others.

Going by the results of their contested matches thus far, India simply played better cricket and looked more composed across both innings, which helped them stay at the top.

However, fans from other countries, mainly Pakistan, flooded social media with counterarguments, showing displeasure over the host nation not getting a chance to stage the tournament finale.

Many journalists, analysts, former and current cricketers, and countless fans, began slamming the ICC, accusing them of favouring India in this tournament, with the others bearing the brunt.

While Pat Cummins denied making any remarks on India playing at one venue benefiting them, CODE Cricket – an Australian outlet, posted comments made by former England cricketer-turned-broadcaster Jonathan Agnew.

"I feel very uncomfortable about the way that India is being treated at the moment," he said in a chat with ABC Sport. "This is wrong; if you're going to play international tournaments, you can't pick and choose where you play and where you're not going to play. I don't see how long this can carry on for. It makes a farce of these tournaments.”

Former England captains Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain also joined in. “What about the advantage India have in playing in Dubai, only in Dubai? Which seems to me to be a hard-to-quantify advantage, but an undeniable advantage,” Atherton said.

His long-time teammate and friend Hussain added, “It is an advantage. So, the best team in the tournament have that advantage. And I saw a tweet the other day saying, ‘Pakistan host nation, India home advantage.’ It sums it up really.”

“They are at one place, one hotel, they don’t have to travel. They have one dressing room. They know the pitch, they have picked for that pitch.

“They were very smart in their selection. They probably knew what Dubai is going to be like. They picked all their spinners. There was a bit of debate with Indian media saying why don’t you have gone for an extra seamer? Why all these spinners? Now we can see why,” he continued.

Though Pakistan head coach Aaqib Javed and Proteas batter David Miller also pointed out the same, ace India quick Mohammed Shami agreed somewhat, saying, "It is certainly helping us. We know the conditions and the behaviour of the pitch.”

India, having reached the final, will face New Zealand for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 title in Dubai on Sunday (Mar 9).

(With inputs from agencies)