India’s batters could’ve scored heavily in Pakistan: Robin Uthappa | Cricket News

DUBAI: The 2025 ICC Champions Trophy, it can safely be said, has been marred by bad weather in Pakistan and accusations from various quarters that India have enjoyed an ‘unfair advantage’ by playing all their matches at one venue – the Dubai International Stadium here, even as the other teams are criss-crossing between various venues in Pakistan and Dubai to play their matches.
Former India opener Robin Uthappa, who is currently settled in Dubai post retirement, has a slightly different take on the issue. The 39-year-old, who played 46 ODIs (934 runs@25.94) and 13 T20Is (24.90) from 2006-2015, feels that India’s power-packed batting line-up actually missed out on “scoring heavily” on the featherbeds of Pakistan during the tournament, being forced to play on the slow pitch of Dubai, where run-scoring has comparatively been tougher.
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“India could have complained that had they played on flat Pakistani pitches, their record could have been nicer. Each batsman would have got an opportunity to score (heavily). You may say whatever, but at the end of the day, cricket is a contest between bat and ball and the team which plays well on that day wins. And those who complain, you can sense their mental state. It becomes so obvious,” Uthappa said.
Uthappa said that while India did enjoy an edge in the Champions Trophy in terms of having an opportunity to become familiar with the conditions in Dubai, it must also be taken into account that they had “the right to decide if they don’t want to travel to a particular nation due to the geo-political situation.”

“I will not say it’s a home advantage but there is definitely an advantage of familiarity. I heard an interview where former India opener Wasim Jaffer was saying that there could have been one match in Abu Dhabi, one in Dubai and one in Sharjah, and definitely that could have been done so that other teams couldn’t find a reason to complain. However, we must ask why didn’t we go to Pakistan? Because of the geo-political situation. And each country has their right to decide if they don’t want to travel to a particular nation. And for that, if one country ends up playing in one venue then so be it,” Uthappa said during a book launch, here on Friday evening.
Giving his take on the controversy, former India opener and current UAE head coach Lalchand Rajput said that India were definitely at an advantage in the 2025 Champions Trophy as it wasn’t easy for visiting teams to get used to the Dubai pitch quickly. “See, there is definitely an advantage as one team is playing all matches in one venue. But if you look closely, Pakistani pitches are flat while Dubai is on the slower side and it will take some effort to get used to these conditions quickly.”
Uthappa said it shouldn’t matter to India who their semifinal opponents would be from Group B – it could be either Australia or South Africa – and the 2023 ODI World Cup finalists should just focus on their own “form, strength and mood of the team.”
“Genuinely as a cricketer it does not matter to us as to who is going to be our opponent. We as a team should focus on our form, strength and mood of the team, which is more important than who we are going to face or the pitches we are going to play on. It doesn’t matter much. Any team which is confident and in form would never think on those lines. They will concentrate on what we are going to do to win the game,” Uthappa said.

‘Had predicted that Kohli would break Tendulkar’s record’
For someone who had coached Virat Kohli when the latter was playing for the India under-19 team in 2006 where he was the head coach, Rajput reminded everyone that he had predicted “very early that Kohli would end up breaking (the legendary) Sachin Tendulkar’s colossal records in international cricket.”
Talking about the Indian cricketing superstar, who is set to feature in his 300th ODI, Rajput said, “To be very honest, I had predicted very early that he would break Tendulkar’s record. He still has got the same hunger and passion and 300 is a lot of games. He is still so fit and every run is so important for him and he values his wicket. He doesn’t want to throw his wicket. That is why he is the No. 1 (batter in world cricket.)”
Showering praise on India captain Rohit Sharma for “keeping the dressing room” happy with his jovial nature, Rajput hoped that India would win one more ICC trophy – they triumphed in the 2024 T20 World Cup last year – under his captaincy.
“As a captain, he is the best so far with young players. He keeps the dressing room very happy, because he allows the batsmen to perform well and doesn’t put any pressure, and he is a jolly good fellow. He keeps the mood very light and that is what you saw in the West Indies when India won the T20 World Cup. Apart from the captain, he is also a friend, philosopher, and guide for many players. So, I think this CT will be another feather in his cap. And the way India has played so far, I do believe that there is another global trophy that India can win,” Rajput concluded.