<p>Dubai: Head coach Gautam Gambhir on Tuesday 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 venue after arriving here for the Champions Trophy.</p>.<p>India played all their matches at the DICS, and <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/sports/cricket/icc-champions-trophy-2025-king-kohli-steers-india-to-final-3431670">entered the final</a> of the ICC marquee event with an all-win record.</p>.<p>"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 in the post-match press meet after India defeated Australia by four wickets in the semifinals.</p>.<p>"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.</p>.<p>Gambhir also said India did not plan to play four spinners or did not even pick them based on any prior knowledge of the conditions.</p>.Champions Trophy: India players pay tribute to Shivalkar, wear black armbands during semifinal.<p>"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.</p>.<p>"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.</p>.<p>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.</p>.<p>"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.</p>.<p>"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.</p>
<p>Dubai: Head coach Gautam Gambhir on Tuesday 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 venue after arriving here for the Champions Trophy.</p>.<p>India played all their matches at the DICS, and <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/sports/cricket/icc-champions-trophy-2025-king-kohli-steers-india-to-final-3431670">entered the final</a> of the ICC marquee event with an all-win record.</p>.<p>"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 in the post-match press meet after India defeated Australia by four wickets in the semifinals.</p>.<p>"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.</p>.<p>Gambhir also said India did not plan to play four spinners or did not even pick them based on any prior knowledge of the conditions.</p>.Champions Trophy: India players pay tribute to Shivalkar, wear black armbands during semifinal.<p>"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.</p>.<p>"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.</p>.<p>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.</p>.<p>"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.</p>.<p>"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.</p>