India vs Pakistan Champions Trophy 2025: What type of a pitch will be used in Dubai? Curator makes a revelation
The Indian Cricket Team under the leadership of Rohit Sharma looks fully prepared for the upcoming marquee event of this year, the Champions Trophy 2025. The tournament is set to be hosted by Pakistan from the 19th of February. But the Men in Blue will be playing their matches in the city of Dubai. If they manage to qualify for the final, then the the title-deciding clash will also be played in Dubai.
The Rohit Sharma-led team will be kicking off their Champions Trophy campaign versus Bangladesh on the 20th of February while the highly-awaited Pakistan versus India match will be played on the 23rd of February. In such a situation, the fans are eager to know what kind of a pitch will the Dubai International Cricket Stadium prepare for the intense clash.
The Dubai pitch is anticipated to be ready in a span of 10 days
Matthew Sandery the pitch curator of the Dubai International Cricket Stadium has made a major revelation regarding the pitch for the Pakistan versus India Champions Trophy 2025 clash. In an interview with Sports tak, he gave a major update regarding how the pitch will be prepared and what kind of a game will be witnessed.
It's worth noting that at present, International League T20 (ILT20) matches are currently being played in the stadium of Dubai. Following the conclusion of that tournament, the Champions Trophy 2025 matches will be played and there will be a gap of 10 days between the end of ILT20 and Champions Trophy 2025.
The curator believes that the pitch will be set up easily as the gap of 10 days will be more than enough to help his team set up a proper Cricketing pitch. His team is really skillful and Cricket matches keep taking place in Dubai for the entire year so they have more than enough experience to create a good surface.
The weather of Dubai and Pakistan is different
Regarding the highly intense India versus Pakistan Champions Trophy clash, Sandery said, " We don't take a look at which teams are playing versus each other. We give our best to prepare a good pitch. The conditions in Dubai are very different in comparison to Pakistan. The temperature there currently is 10 degrees Celsius while here it's 30 degrees Celsius.
"The atmosphere of Dubai is very different. The shadow of the roof of the stadium falls on the pitch by the afternoon period. By 4:30 pm, the shadow falls on the entire surface. In such a situation, it's difficult to compare the surface of Dubai with any other place around the world. We will be giving our best prepare the best possible Cricketing surface for the Champions Trophy matches," Sandery added.
Chemicals are being used to avoid the dew coming into play
Sandery was asked whether there is any kind of pressure on him? To which he replied by saying, "Definitely, the job of a pitch curator is not easy and there's a lot of pressure to create good wickets. But we are ready. It doesn't matter how many days are left, we are ready for the challenge ahead of us".
He also made a major revelation that since dew plays an important role in determing the fate of white-ball contests, chemicals are being sprayed to limit it's effect and the results are very evident in the ongoing International League T20 tournament.
