"Who is saying the right thing?" - Aakash Chopra on Mohammed Shami and Gautam Gambhir's contrasting statements ahead of 2025 Champions Trophy final

Former India player Aakash Chopra has noted that Mohammed Shami and Gautam Gambhir have voiced contrasting views ahead of the 2025 Champions Trophy final. He questioned whether the veteran Indian seamer or the Men in Blue's head coach had the right opinion.

India will face New Zealand in the 2025 Champions Trophy final in Dubai on Sunday, March 9. Ahead of the game, while Shami acknowledged that India have had an advantage as they are playing all their games at a single venue in Dubai, Gambhir opined that it wasn't the case.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel 'Aakash Chopra,' the cricketer-turned-commentator wondered whether Shami or Gambhir's perspective was correct.

"Mohammed Shami is saying that they have an advantage of playing in Dubai. Gautam Gambhir is saying - 'What advantage, you just keep cribbing in life, look ahead.' However, who is saying the right thing? Is there an actual advantage or not? We are playing all our matches in Dubai," he said (0:30).

While acknowledging that India haven't had to travel throughout the 2025 Champions Trophy, Chopra reckoned that it shouldn't be the defining factor.

"There are two aspects to it. One is the problem because of travel. Is it a problem? I won't say that you lose only because you have had to travel more. I am not denying that there is fatigue, but it's not make or break. You are playing international cricket," he observed.

Aakash Chopra pointed out that India played all their league games in the 2023 World Cup at different venues while all other teams played two matches at one venue at some stage or other. He added that nobody complained at that time, with Rohit Sharma and company making it to the final despite their hectic travel schedule.

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"There is an advantage because of the conditions" - Aakash Chopra on India playing all their 2025 Champions Trophy games on favorable Dubai pitches

The Dubai pitch has assisted the spinners throughout the 2025 Champions Trophy. [P/C: Getty]

In the same video, Aakash Chopra noted that India might not have benefited due to lack of travel but have been helped by the conditions in Dubai during the 2025 Champions Trophy.

"Being at one place is not much of an advantage, but there is an advantage because of the conditions. These conditions are suiting you. You can choose your 11 or 15 according to that. Mahabharat taught us one thing. If Krishna is on your side, that's it, it's over. The right selection is extremely important," he said (7:35).

The former India opener added that the Men in Blue were potentially aware of the conditions in Dubai and that the selection of a spin-heavy attack has helped their cause.

"Since you chose Krishna, you won the Mahabharat. Since you chose five spinners for Dubai, you won the battle here. India, obviously, had an idea about the pitch. We didn't have an idea, but India had. That's why they chose five spinners and played four in the end. That is working in their favor," Chopra elaborated.

Aakash Chopra pointed out that India would have had to play on different kinds of pitches if they had played in Pakistan or even in multiple venues in the UAE. To conclude, the analyst concurred with Mohammed Shami's views, highlighting that India have had a slight advantage as they didn't have to constantly change or remodel their game for different conditions.