Champions Trophy: India didn't have any undue advantage: Gambhir

'Some people are just perpetual cribbers.'

Gautam Gambhir with Varun Chakravarthy

IMAGE: Gautam Gambhir claimed that India did not plan to play four spinners or did not even pick them based on any prior knowledge of the conditions. Photograph: Amit Dave/Reuters

Head coach Gautam Gambhir said India did not have any unfair advantage after being stationed in Dubai, saying his side did not even hold a training session at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium during the ICC Champions Trophy.

India played all their matches in Dubai after they refused to travel to Pakistan due to security concerns. They outclassed Australia by four wickets in the semi-finals on Tuesday to advance to their fifth Champions Trophy final.

"I know, there's a lot of debate about the undue advantage. But what is an undue advantage? First of all, this is as much of a neutral venue for us as it is for any other team. I don't remember which tournament we played in this stadium last time," Gambhir said.

"We haven't practiced here even for a day. We practiced in the ICC Academy. The conditions there and here are 180 degrees different. Some people are just perpetual cribbers. So, I feel we didn't have any undue advantage," he added.

Gambhir also claimed that India did not plan to play four spinners or did not even pick them based on any prior knowledge of the conditions.

"The plan was that if you pick two spinners in a 15-member squad, then if we play in Pakistan or anywhere else, we'll pick two spinners because this is a competition on a subcontinent. So, we didn't plan to play any spinners.

"If you look at it, we've only played two or three spinners in the last two matches and the rest were all all-rounders," he added.

Skipper Rohit Sharma once again played a cameo and got out for a quick 29-ball 28, but Gambhir lauded him for showing the right intent.

"If your team plays with this kind of tempo, it just gives a very good signal to the dressing room that we want to be absolutely fearless and courageous. You evaluate with the stats, we evaluate with the impact.

"As journalists, as experts, you only look at the numbers, not the averages. But as a coach, as a team, we don't look at numbers or averages. If the captain puts his hand up first, nothing is more interesting than that," he added.