South Africa and Australia both set to travel to Dubai as tangled Champions Trophy scheduling requires that to happen.
South Africa nd Australia to travel to Dubai due to tangled Champions Trophy scheduling.
Due to the Champions Trophy semi-finals being held in two different nations, Australia and South Africa*, the two teams that qualified from Group B, will be visiting the United Arab Emirates this weekend.
According to an ICC official, the decision was made to provide the team playing in the March 4 semi-final in Dubai the most time possible to be ready for the match. It does, however, ensure that one party will be in a less-than-ideal situation of having to leave Pakistan for Dubai and then return to Pakistan shortly thereafter.
Due to the tournament’s scheduling, one team will travel and prepare in a location they are not required to defeat for the Lahore semi-final, which takes place one day later on March 5.
After their match against Afghanistan was called off in Lahore on Friday, Australia qualified and moved to Dubai on Saturday. South Africa will leave Karachi for Dubai at midday on Sunday after securing qualifying on Saturday night with a decisive victory over England.
Only until India and New Zealand play the tournament’s final group match on Sunday will the actual matchups and locations of the two semi-finals be finalised. Regardless of their group standing, India will play in Dubai, thus the two teams in group B won’t know where they’ll play their semi-final until after India’s match against New Zealand.
Even though Pakistan was the tournament’s official host, such a situation was all but inevitable because India had to play their games outside of Pakistan. In an attempt to persuade India to travel to Pakistan, the PCB spent several months suggesting that all of their matches be held in Lahore. The Indian government, according to the BCCI, did not authorise the squad to play cricket in Lahore. The political animosity between the two nations is high.
Venue-related uncertainty will continue until the very end. The final will be held in Dubai if India wins their semifinal match. But if they lose, the semi-final will be held in Lahore at Gaddafi Stadium.