Former Pakistan captain Mohammad Hafeez dismissed speculation that India had an unfair advantage over other teams in the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 because all of their matches, including the final rounds, were played at the same site (Dubai International Stadium).

According to Hafeez, it is incorrect to believe that India receives preferential treatment from the ICC. In fact, they are the only club that plans to win ICC events and delivers on that promise, according to the former all-rounder.

The Champions Trophy was held in a hybrid format since the Indian government refused to let their cricket team go to Pakistan for security reasons. Hence after months of talks, BCCI, PCB, and ICC came to the consensus that India and Pakistan will play each other in ICC events at neutral venues till 2027.

As the competition progressed and India began to dominate other teams, the notion of location advantage gained traction. And it came from well-known former and current cricketers.

Hafeez stated that the priorities of various boards vary. Hafeez used South Africa and Pakistan as examples, saying that because they are not financially powerful enough to provide large sums to their players for international matches, they must allow their players to participate in various franchise leagues even during bilateral series.

"I went to South Africa in 2021, and they sent their players to the IPL. They are not a financially strong board. They want money. They played their C team against Pakistan. Later, they sent their players to the IPL even during a Test series against New Zealand. Then, when SA20 came, they treated it like a money-making machine. They don't want to compromise with that. That is their policy," Hafeez said on ‘Game on Hai’.

Hafeez went on to say that the PCB decided to conduct multi-nation championships in a hybrid format mostly for financial reasons. Aside from money, Hafeez claimed that Pakistan earned nothing by hosting the Champions Trophy under a hybrid arrangement.

But that is not the case in India, which has a financially strong board that intends to win tournaments.

"If you look at us, we agreed on a hybrid model twice. Hume kuch nahi mila hybrid model se, other than paise. Toh humne wo le liya Kuchh paise kama liye, baat khatam. Hamara that paisa, humne wo le liya. South Africa bhi. Lekin jo jeetne ke liye khel rahi wo hai India ki team (We didn't earn anything apart from some money. We got what we wanted, which is money. South Africa, too.) The team that is playing to win is India. They plan to win ICC trophies. We talk a lot about them recovering favors. They are not getting any favors from anyone. Whatever they earn is because of the quality of cricket they are playing," Hafeez added.

Pakistan got knocked out in the group stage itself after losing to New Zealand and India. India will meet New Zealand in the summit clash in Dubai on Sunday.