With the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 reaching its business end, the debate over India’s potential advantage in Dubai has become the talk of the town.

The Dubai International Cricket Stadium is playing host to India's Champions Trophy matches as the BCCI has refused to send its team to Pakistan due to security concerns and uncordial political relations between the two countries.

Irrespective of their position in the Group A points table, the Rohit Sharma-led side is slated to play the first semi-final in Dubai on March 4. Hence, several former and current players have been quite vocal about India getting undue advantage by playing at just one venue.

Now, according to an ESPNCricinfo report, Group B potential semi-finalists Australia and South Africa will travel to the UAE on Saturday (March 1). But strangely one of them will return to Pakistan as one of the semi-finals will be held in Lahore on March 5.

Now, according to a report, Group B potential semi-finalists Australia and South Africa will travel to the UAE on Saturday. But strangely one of them will return to India as one of the semi-finals will in Pakistan, while the other will be in Dubai.

Group A's other semi-finalists New Zealand will play their final-four clash in Lahore. The match-ups and venues of the Champions Trophy 2025 semi-finals will be confirmed after India versus New Zealand final Group A game on March 2.

"An ICC official said the decision had been taken to allow the side that plays the semi-final in Dubai on March 4 the maximum time to prepare for that contest. However, it does guarantee one side will find themselves in the suboptimal position of leaving Pakistan for Dubai, only to have to return to Pakistan the following day," a report in ESPNCricinfo said.

"While the Lahore semi-final is one day later on March 5, the way in which this tournament has been scheduled means that one team will travel and train at a venue they do not need to be at for a day."

Another report in BBC confirmed the development. "Group B concludes with South Africa's match against England on Saturday but neither the Proteas or Australia will know the venue for their semifinal until after the conclusion of India's match against New Zealand on Sunday," wrote BBC on Saturday.

"Were they (Australia and South Africa) to wait until Monday and only travel when the fixtures were confirmed, that would rule out the possibility of training in Dubai -– where India will have played all three group matches," it added.

The report further stated that a situation could arise where Australia might take a three-hour flight from Lahore to Dubai on Saturday, and then fly back on Monday if they do not meet India in the semifinal.

"Similarly, South Africa will fly to Dubai in the early hours of Sunday (after their last group match against England) and could return to Pakistan 24 hours later if they do not have to face India," said the report.

The team finishing second in Group A will meet the toppers of Group B and vice-versa.

After India’s back-to-back wins in the tournament over Bangladesh and Pakistan, former England captains Michael Atherton and Nasser Hussain claimed that the Rohit Sharma-led side has an "undeniable advantage", as unlike the rest of the teams, they don't have to travel from one venue to another or consider team selection based on conditions.

Some active cricketers, including South Africa’s Rassie van der Dussen and England’s Jos Buttler have also said that India are in an advantageous position as they are playing at one venue.