The India Cricket Team will play all their ICC Champions Trophy matches in Dubai. But there has been a growing concern about the slow pitches. Especially, after the ILT20 event was held back in January-February. But rest assured, India will get 2 fresh pitches to play their group-stage matches in the mega ICC event.
Dubai has been hosting quite a few big events in the recent past. Last year, it hosted the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup followed by the U19 Asia Cup. And then came ILT20. As a result, naturally, the pitches at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium have become slow, worn out, and deteriorating.
Team India gets 2 fresh pitches in Dubai
But for the ICC Champions Trophy, two fresh pitches have been kept as reserves for the Men in Blue. India will play all their matches at this venue. This includes three group-stage matches. If India moves to the knockout phases and the finals, then the venues will be shifted accordingly and will be hosted in Dubai.
The Dubai Stadium hosted 15 matches of the ILT20. Out of the 10 pitches, just 8 were used during the tournament. And 2 fresh pitches were kept for Team India for the Champions Trophy.
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“There are 10 match strips at the DICS. During the league stage, there was specific instruction that those two won’t be used now and needed to be kept fresh for the Champions Trophy,” a source in the know of things told PTI.
“However, whether any of the two was used for the play-offs 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,” the source added.
Over the years, Dubai pitches have favored pacers. But now, spinners too can extract the best from these pitches. Spinners who can operate with a bit of pace will be able to work wonders in Dubai. Heading into the tournament, India has picked 5 spinners for the ICC tournament.
