Teams Should Have Been Allowed Two Extra Picks To Combat India's 'Unfair' Advantage: Harmison

Former England fast bowler Steve Harmison believes that the ICC should have given teams in the Champions Trophy the option of carrying a 17-person squad in order to combat India’s ‘unfair’ advantage, which will see the Men in Blue play all their games in Dubai.

India will play all their 2025 Champions Trophy matches in Duba,i and players, both current and former, have been vocal about how the arrangement gives Rohit Sharma’s side a significant advantage. For instance, while the semi-final will be India’s fourth match in Dubai, their opponents will be playing at the venue for the first time in the competition.

Harmison opined that it’s unfair for other sides to combat Pakistan and UAE conditions with just 15 members in their squads.

“Once India were playing all their games in Dubai all the other teams should have had two extra picks,” Harmison said on Talksport Cricket.

“Every single one should have had a 17-man squad, not a 15-man squad, with the allowance of being able to bring in an extra batter and an extra bowler into their squads, for the possibility that they would have to play a semi-final or a final in a place which is not Pakistan.

“That sounds ridiculous, but the goalposts got moved so far for India to know that every single game, they're in the same dressing room, on the same pitch, in the same warm-up facilities, in the same hotel, everything that goes with it.”

Harmison further asserted that it’s ‘not fair’ that India precisely know where they’ll be playing and what they’ll need to do, while the other teams will have to adjust to India’s needs.

“So that's my stupid comment for the week, but something needed to be given to the opposition because, again, it's not fair. It's not fair,” he said.