There is a lot of curiosity about the kind of pitches in Dubai International Cricket Stadium (DICS), where India will play its ICC Champions Trophy 2025 matches. The Champions Trophy 2025 will begin in Pakistan on February 19, but India refused to travel to Pakistan, and hence Dubai was chosen as a hybrid venue.
Dubai Stadium is known for assisting spinners and for its slow and low pitches in normal conditions. But a report has claimed that India may not have to play their Champions Trophy league games in Dubai on slow, worn-out end-of-season wickets, as two 22-yard strips in relatively good shape have been reserved for the world's most popular cricket team.
India will play all three league matches at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium (DICS) against Bangladesh on February 20, Pakistan on February 23, and New Zealand on March 2. There has been a significant amount of cricket played at the DICS since last year's Women's T20 World Cup, which was followed by the men's U-19 Asia Cup and the famous IL T20 league, the Emirates Cricket Board's main event.
DICS hosted 15 ILT20 matches, two of which were in the knockout stage. It is confirmed that during the 13 league matches, two of the pitches were left fully unused to be rendered match-ready for the ICC Champions Trophy.
“There are 10 match strips at the DICS. During the league stage, there were specific instructions that those two won't be used now and needed to be kept fresh for the Champions Trophy. However, whether any of the two was used for the playoffs isn't known. The idea is to ensure that it doesn't become low and slow after over-use and matches become drag. The fresh pitches will aid the batters and bowlers in equal measure,” a source in the know of things told PTI.
India will face Bangladesh on Feb 20, Pakistan on Feb 23, and New Zealand on March 2 inthe ICC Champions Trophy group stage game.
Traditionally, the Dubai track has witnessed pacers taking plenty of wickets, but this time, the spinners who bowl at a quickish pace could hold the key.
