Dubai, Feb 28: New Zealand off-spinner Michael Bracewell on Friday brushed aside any talks about India getting an unfair advantage in the ongoing Champions Trophy by playing all their games in Dubai, simply saying that his team was “excited to try and play in different conditions”.
Rohit Sharma’s team is playing all its matches in Dubai, and even the final will be held here if India goes the distance.
New Zealand will be playing their first match of the tournament here — against India on Sunday — after their last two games were held in Pakistan.
Some cricketers, including South African top-order batter Rassie van der Dussen and former Australia skipper Pat Cummins, have said India are in an advantageous position as they have played all their games at one venue while other teams have had to travel to different venues in Pakistan.
India had refused to travel to Pakistan for the tournament citing security reasons.
“Look, it is what it is. It’s been decided, and that’s the way it is, and there’s no point dwelling on that,” said Bracewell, when asked if India have unfair advantage in Dubai.
“It’s part of what makes it exciting. I personally think it’s coming to a different ground and trying to figure out those different conditions. Yeah, not much more to say on that other than we’re excited to try and learn and play in different conditions,” added the 34-year-old off-spinner.
The New Zealander opined that the pitches here would aid spin and it would be a good idea to train hard before the game against India.“The wickets here have looked like they’ve taken a bit of a spin. So, it’ll be good to try and get used to the wickets as quickly as we can. We’ve obviously enjoyed the pitches in Pakistan.” (PTI)
