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India will take on arch-rivals Pakistan in a high-voltage clash of the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy 2025 on February 23.
Several fans and experts feel that India are a very strong team and it will be pretty tough for Pakistan to defeat India. However, former India all-rounder Yuvraj Singh has a different opinion.
Yuvi feels that, Pakistan will have advantage over India as they are more accustomed to playing in Dubai than India. According to the former southpaw, Pakistan will have the benefit of playing more matches at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium (DICS).
Pakistan’s advantage
As compared to India’s seven ODIs, Pakistan have played 22 one-day internationals at the venue, giving weight to Yuvraj’s statement.
“I actually think Pakistan has an advantage because they have a base in Dubai. They have played a lot of cricket there and understand the conditions well,” said Yuvraj during a recent interaction.
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“You talk about match-winners–yes, I agree with Shahid Afridi that we have more match-winners. But I believe that even if Pakistan has fewer match-winners, one player can still take the game away. The India-Pakistan clash is not about match-winners alone; it’s about playing in the moment, adapting to the situation, and not letting expectations overwhelm you. The team that does this better will win the game for their country,” he added.
Notably, India will play all their matches of the mega event in Dubai as BCCI refused for Team India’s visit to the neighbouring country due to strained political relationships. As a result, ICC was forced to prepare a hybrid model for the mega event.
