The Champions Trophy 2025 scheduling has ignited a firestorm of criticism with former England cricketer and commentator David Lloyd joining the bandwagon and slamming the International Cricket Council (ICC) for the same.
Lloyd branded the tournament's logistical arrangements "embarrassing" and "laughable," voicing strong disapproval of what he perceives as a deeply flawed system.
At the heart of the issue is the stark disparity in travel demands placed on different teams. As India refused to travel to Pakistan due to the ongoing geopolitical tensions between both the countries, the ICC had to make last-minute changes to the original schedule, staging all of India's matches in Dubai.
This resulted in the other participating teams facing a grueling schedule, shuttling between Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates. New Zealand flew to Dubai for their final group match versus India and took a flight back to Lahore for their semi-final against South Africa.
The scheduling became particularly problematic for South Africa. As the semi-final match-ups and venues were not clear up until the last fixture of the group stage, both South Africa and Australia travelled to Dubai to give them enough time to prepare themselves for the knockout clash. However, after the semi-final draw became clear, the Proteas had to return to Lahore just a few hours after landing in Dubai.
Also read: NZ vs SA - Rachin Ravindra Joins Sourav Ganguly, Saeed Anwar, Shikhar Dhawan In Elite ICC Record
ADVERTISEMENT
Loading...
David Lloyd not impressed with Champions Trophy 2025 hybrid model
Lloyd, in no uncertain terms, described the arrangements as "farcical" and "nonsense," questioning the fairness and practicality of the ICC's plan.
“It's really embarrassing that this is one of the highest, most important events in world cricket, and the arrangements of playing are farcical. It's laughable, that you have to do that. I mean, words fail me,” Lloyd said as quoted in a video.
“It is just nonsense. I really don't know how else to describe it, this is a world event,” continued Lloyd. "You have teams who go from here to there, you might play here, you might not, you might have to go back. I'm quite a humorous guy and I think that's quite funny actually, but it's not so funny if I'm one of the players,” he added.
India to face New Zealand in final of Champions Trophy 2025
India beat Australia by four wickets to book their place in the final of the competition. New Zealand decimated South Africa by 50 runs and entered the final.
For New Zealand, Rachin Ravindra and Kane Williamson scored centuries. Chasing 363 runs, South Africa lost regular wickets. David Miller hammered a hundred but it went in vain as South Africa finished at 312/9 in 50 overs.
The summit clash will take place at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium on March 9.
More About India vs New Zealand Champions Trophy 2025 Final
India vs New Zealand Scorecard
