Former England cricketers Nasser Hussain, Michael Atherton, and David Lloyd have come under fire from former Pakistan captain Rashid Latif for their assertions that India has an "undeniable advantage" and that the ICC Champions Trophy schedule is "rigged" to benefit the Rohit Sharma-led team, which played all of its matches in Dubai.
For security considerations, India avoided visiting Pakistan, the host nation, and instead played all of its group matches, semifinals, and now finals in Dubai. For budgetary concerns, Pakistan and the ICC decided it would be preferable to avoid distributing India's matches among various UAE locations.
On the 'Caught Behind' channel on YouTube, Latif aimed former England players Nasser Hussain, Michael Atherton, and David Lloyd for fostering the anti-India and anti-BCCI narrative.
“If we (Pakistan) are talking about India having an advantage, you get it. But why are former England cricketers whinging about it now? Begaani shaadi mein abdullah deewana (They are trying to be overly involved in someone else’s affairs),’ Rashid Latif said.
Although the former wicketkeeper-batsman acknowledged that there was a schedule conflict, he refused to hold the BCCI exclusively responsible for what he described as a "blunder."
In fact, Latif told the other cricket boards to stop whining about a mistake and chastised them for ignoring it.
"Yes, there was a problem with scheduling. On Saturday, March 2nd, India played New Zealand in Dubai. If India had played that match a day earlier, when England played South Africa (on March 1st) in Karachi, then the semifinal lineup would have been decided easily. It was a blunder from the ICC and all the stakeholders. You have one job: to check the schedule, and you missed the mistake.
You are whining once you agreed, and now your team is out. All the representatives of the cricket boards are to blame. You should not go to the ICC meeting to have a good time. Do your job properly," he added.
"If India is getting all the support, but you all agreed to it, let's say we Pakistanis are making excuses because of jealousy, but the rest of the world should not moan about this issue. You all agreed to this schedule. They are trying to create an unnecessary controversy,” Latif concluded.
India and Pakistan will clash in the Champions Trophy 2025 final in Dubai on Sunday, March 9, 2025.
