India force Dubai final despite Pakistan hosting Champions Trophy
The final of the Champions Trophy will be held in Dubai despite Pakistan being tournament hosts after India reached the final.
Political tensions between Pakistan and India led to the tournament favourites refusing to play their matches in the host country.
India beat Australia by four wickets to reach the final, and will take on South Africa or New Zealand.
An excitable Jay Shah, the new International Cricket Council chair and son of Indian home affairs minister Amit Shah, watched on as his native homeland reached the final, which will be staged over 1,200 miles away from the planned host Lahore.
Advantage India
India, not needing to travel between now and the final, will also have a rest advantage over their eventual finalists given the winners of the other semi-final between South Africa and New Zealand will need to travel to the United Arab Emirates after their victory in Pakistan.
Critics have slammed the lack of realpolitik in action, with few seemingly unable to stand up to India’s demands not to play in Pakistan over tensions.
It means the biggest tournament Pakistan has hosted in a generation will have a final in another country, exactly where the tournament favourites wanted to play their matches.
It comes after last year’s T20 Cricket World Cup in the Caribbean, where India were given advanced warning of their semi-final location ahead of the tournament, assuming they’d reach it. They were also the only team not forced to play a night match and it came off the back of only needing to take one fight in the opening round of the tournament.