“Huge advantage playing on the same ground” - Pat Cummins’ massive statement on India during 2025 Champions Trophy

Australia's regular captain Pat Cummins has pointed out an unfair advantage to India in the 2025 Champions Trophy. The 2023 World Cup-winning skipper reckoned that the Men in Blue benefited by playing all their games on one ground.

The Rohit Sharma-led side are scheduled to play all their games in Dubai as they denied traveling to Pakistan due to the ongoing geopolitical tensions between the neighboring countries. India beat Bangladesh and Pakistan by the same six-wicket margin in both games. With the victories, they have already qualified for the semifinals.

On the other hand, other teams are forced to play across three venues in Pakistan, namely Karachi, Lahore, and Rawalpindi. They have to decide their playing XI depending on the conditions. The teams also have to travel to Dubai to play against India.

Speaking about this, Cummins told Yahoo Australia (via The New Indian Express):

"I think it's good in that the tournament can go on, but obviously it does give them (India) a huge advantage playing on the same ground. They already look very strong and they've got that obvious benefit of playing all their games there."

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"Should be right for IPL" - Pat Cummis eyes comeback with SunRisers Hyderabad after an ankle injury

Pat Cummins is aiming to make a comeback with the SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 season. The speedster has been recovering from a left ankle injury he sustained during the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT), which ruled him out of the 2025 Champions Trophy. The 31-year-old said (via Yahoo Australia):

"The ankle is starting to come good. "It's a funny one –- it's not like a hamstring where you need six weeks (to recover). It's one of those ones where it really just needs a bit (more) rest to settle down."

"Physically it's quite a nice build-up for the World Test Championship final, and then the Test matches after that. That's the aim at this stage -– start bowling over the next week or so, building up, and should be right for IPL," he added.

Steve Smith is leading Australia in Cummins' absence in the 2025 Champions Trophy. The Aussies got off to a terrific start by defeating England by five wickets in their opening game in Lahore. Australia chased down the highest total (352) in tournament history.