"I would tend to agree with some of the opinions" - Australian ace pacer breaks silence on India copping criticism during 2025 Champions Trophy

Australia pacer Mitchell Starc feels there is weight behind the claims suggesting Team India had an overwhelming advantage while playing at only one venue throughout their 2025 Champions Trophy campaign. The Men in Blue played all their matches at the Dubai International Stadium as part of the hybrid model.

The other teams played their matches in Pakistan, who were the official host of the tournament. If select teams had a fixture scheduled against India, they had to travel to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The same trend was followed in the knockout stages of the tournament as well.

Over the course of the tournament, the raging debate has witnessed both sides of the extremity. Fans and broadcasters have highlighted how India's alleged unfair home advantage helped their cause, while the Indian camp has staunchly defended their team.

Starc felt there was some degree of merit to the claims by the opposition teams who had to travel to and fro consistently while India remained rooted to one spot for the entire campaign.

"When one team gets to stay at one place, no flights, no restrictions upon them in the place, train at the same venue every time, play every game at the same venue, I would tend to agree with some of the opinions that have come out. I can understand where a lot of the guys in the other seven teams were coming from and some opinions from broadcasters," Starc said on Fanatics TV's YouTube channel.

India continued their unbeaten run at the Dubai International Stadium to win the 2025 Champions Trophy. Rohit Sharma and company topped the group stage with three wins and went on to defeat Australia and New Zealand in the knockout stages of the tournament.

"India won fair and square, they were the better team" - Mitchell Starc on Champions Trophy 2025

India's recent record across conditions has led to suggest that prowess played a bigger role than conditions in their triumph. India have lost only one match across the last three ICC white-ball events. Their 2024 T20 World Cup triumph in the United States of America and the West Indies saw them win seven matches on the trot en route to the title .

"There's been a lot made on that topic. Obviously, India tried to push that to the side and say it's a neutral venue, but there's been a lot to come out of the tournament during and post. India won fair and square, they were the better team, they are a bloody good cricket team, and have been across all formats for a long time," Starc said in the same interview.

Team India have a home T20 World Cup coming up next year, where they aim to be the first side to defend the title, and also become the first-ever three-time winners.