“The wicket was not that great for spinners” - Kuldeep Yadav’s huge claim on 2025 Champions Trophy pitch

Team India bowler Kuldeep Yadav has claimed that the pitch at the Dubai International Stadium used for the 2025 Champions Trophy was not entirely conducive to spinners. The Men in Blue played all of their matches at the neutral venue during the campaign instead of the host nation, Pakistan, as per the hybrid model.

Team India included five spin bowling options in their Champions Trophy squad to combat the slow surfaces in the Middle East. The Men in Blue initially began with a three-spinner approach, but ramped up their spin attack by including a fourth spinner, Varun Chakaravarthy, into the mix. This particular combination had only one frontline seamer in Mohammad Shami as all-rounder Hardik Pandya was the only other pace bowling option in the side.

Spinners played a massive role in the Dubai-leg of the competition, with Chakaravarthy ending as the joint second-highest wicket-taker. Oppositions failed to deal with India's 40-over spin arsenal, paving the way for the Men in Blue to become the only three-time winners of the Champions Trophy.

Kuldeep Yadav also had a prolific campaign, picking up seven wickets at an average of 31.85 and an economy rate of 4.79. However, the left-arm wrist spinner felt that the spinners had to work hard to make breakthroughs, and there was not much assistance from the pitch.

"I thought that the wicket was not that great for spinners. Obviously, it was slow, but it was difficult to produce wickets. On a good track, if you bowl a wrong'un, and the batter can't read it, you can get him out, but not that surface in Dubai, because there was not much spin," Kuldeep Yadav told Michael Clarke on Beyond 23 Cricket Podcast.

Team India had to battle through allegations of unfair home advantage throughout the tournament. Given the fact that India had the luxury of not traveling and playing at the same venue the entire campaign, a significant section of the cricketing community highlighted the fact.

"It was difficult to get wickets because we were playing with 4 spinners" - Kuldeep Yadav on his 2025 Champions Trophy campaign

Kuldeep Yadav began his Champions Trophy campaign on a wicket-less note against Bangladesh. He made a massive statement with his three-wicket haul against Pakistan, and his two wickets against New Zealand went under the radar amid Varun Chakaravarthy's resounding five-wicket haul.

Kuldeep Yadav was India's second-highest wicket-taker during the tournament behind Varun Chakaravarthy and Mohammad Shami, who ended with nine each. Axar Patel and Ravindra Jadeja picked up five wickets apiece to mark a successful campaign for Team India.

"I think I'm bowling as well as I have ever bowled, been bowling really well for the last three-four years after my injury. I thnk I bowled well in the Champions Trophy. It was difficult to get wickets because we were playing with four spinners, but I was right on, bowling wicket-to-wicket," Kuldeep Yadav said (as per the aforementioned source).

Kuldeep Yadav has translated his form into the 2025 Indian Premier League (IPL) as well. He bowled a gem of a spell in the Delhi Capitals' (DC) win over the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) in Vishakapatnam. The spinner finished with figures of 2-20 in the high-scoring contest.