India head coach Gautam Gambhir lashed out at the critics of his team after they became the first team to qualify for the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 final.

Addressing the media following India’s four-wicket victory over Australia in the first semi-final in Dubai, Gambhir referred to 'some' critics as 'perpetual cribbers' and stated that he didn’t care about what was being said outside the dressing room.

His comments were aimed at detractors, including former England captains Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton, who recently claimed that India are getting ‘undeniable’ advantage by playing at just one venue.

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

As a result, the International Cricket Council adopted a hybrid model, allowing the Rohit Sharma-led side to play all of their matches in the UAE.

Gautam Gambhir argued that Dubai is as neutral a venue for India as it is for any other team in this competition.

"It is as much a neutral venue for us as it is for any team in this tournament. I don't remember the last tournament we played here in this stadium. The plan was to pick two front-line spinners wherever we played, because the tournament is in the subcontinent. This is the first match where two front-line spinners are playing," Gambhir told reporters.

"What undue advantage? We are practising at the ICC Academy. The conditions there and at the Dubai International Stadium are completely different. There’s a huge difference between the two wickets. Some people are perpetual cribbers, man. They’ve got to grow up," he added.

The India coach went on a rant while addressing the criticism of the team management and the selection committee. Already under the scanner after Test series defeats against New Zealand and Australia, where India struggled against both spin and pace, Gambhir and Agarkar faced backlash for their squad selection.

Gambhir said he did not care about the criticism as long as he was honest in his job to the 140 crore Indians and his team.

"I don't care about it. Honestly. My job is to be honest to 140 crore Indians and to the people in that dressing room. I don’t care what people talk about, how they talk about it, whether they have agendas. I really don’t care about it. If I am honest to my job, that is all that matters," Gambhir stated.

"When you talk about the spin combinations, there are three all-rounders among those five spinners. People keep forgetting about them. And those three all-rounders are all quality all-rounders. We have picked only two front-line spinners in the entire squad, and that’s okay in a 15-member squad," he remarked.

India will now face the winner of second semi-final between South Africa and New Zealand in the title clash at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday (March 9).