Australia Test skipper Pat Cummins slammed a media outlet on Tuesday (25 February) for misquoting him about India playing all their matches in Dubai in the ongoing ICC Champions Trophy.
The seamer, who is nursing an ankle injury and recently became father for the second time, is not part of the eight-team ODI tournament which is taking place in Pakistan and Dubai. He took to social media to slam Code Cricket, an Australian digital sports platform for attributing a quote to him that he never said.
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“I have definitely never said this @codecricketau,” Cummins posted on X.
FICTION: What was Pat Cummins attributed to have said
Code Cricket, in a now deleted post, alleged that the Aussie fast bowler called out the unfair advantage given to India by the ICC in the Champions Trophy and termed the tournament a ‘farce’, saying teams should not be able to pick and choose where they want to play.
India are playing their matches, including a potential final, in Dubai in the Champions Trophy owing to security concerns in Pakistan. The tripartite agreement was reached before the tournament began with BCCI, PCB and ICC the parties involved. Meanwhile other teams must travel between Pakistan and Dubai for their fixtures.
The outlet shared comments by ex-England cricketer and now broadcaster Jonathan Agnew as that of Cummins. In them, Agnew said, “I feel very uncomfortable about the way that India is being treated at the moment,” he told ABC Sport.
“This is wrong; if you’re going to play international tournaments, you can’t pick and choose where you play and where you’re not going to play. I don’t see how long this can carry on for? It makes a farce of these tournaments,” he added.
FACT: What did Pat Cummins say on the topic
Pat Cummins did, however, speak about the topic at hand. He was interviewed by Yahoo Australia and said India did have a “huge advantage.” The belief was also shared by former England captainsNasser Hussain and Michael Atherton.
Cummins, in an interview with Yahoo Australia was more measured on the topic and said, “I think it’s good in that the tournament can go on, but obviously, it does give them (India) a huge advantage playing on the same ground. They already look very strong, and they’ve got that obvious benefit of playing all their games there.”
