ICC blamed for empty stadium, told to ‘shift Champions Trophy entirely to Pakistan’: ‘If global cricket event can’t…’
India’s Champions Trophy 2025 campaign kicked off with an impressive six-wicket victory over Bangladesh; however, the side’s opener also saw empty stands in the 25,000-capacity Dubai International Cricket Stadium. For a team that usually commands packed arenas and deafening support, the underwhelming crowd turnout raised eyebrows and fueled debates about the future of ODI cricket.
Bangladesh skipper Najmul Hossain Shanto won the toss and chose to bat first, but his decision backfired spectacularly. Both he and Soumya Sarkar departed for ducks in the opening two overs, setting the tone for a dismal batting performance. India’s bowlers tightened their grip early, reducing Bangladesh to a dire 35/5.
Mohammed Shami and Axar Patel were relentless, with Patel coming agonizingly close to a hat-trick after Jaker Ali edged one straight to Rohit Sharma – only for the Indian captain to put it down.
Despite India’s dominant start, the sparse attendance became the biggest talking point of the match. Empty seats in an India game – an unthinkable sight in recent years – prompted speculation about the relevance of the Champions Trophy and ODI cricket.
Earlier, Pakistan’s opening clash against New Zealand in Karachi also saw a disappointing turnout, with former England captain Michael Vaughan criticizing the lack of fan interest.
Former IPL chairman Lalit Modi added to the discourse, questioning whether the format itself was losing its appeal. “Watching the @ICC Champions Trophy cricket match between #India and #Bangladesh. Stands are empty. That would not happen at an #IPL game. Is the one-day format becoming irrelevant to the fans? What’s your view? Should one-day cricket be scrapped and more Test cricket?” Modi posted on X.
Nevertheless, India enjoyed a dominant outing, with Mohammed Shami marking his return to an ICC tournament in style, delivering a superb 5/53 to dismantle Bangladesh’s batting lineup to 228.
Shubman Gill then took charge with a masterful hundred, anchoring India’s response with precision. His well-paced century (101* off 129 balls) ensured there were no hiccups, as India comfortably cruised to the target with six wickets in hand and 21 balls to spare.
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The empty stands in Dubai triggered reactions on social media during India’s opening match of the Champions Trophy campaign against Bangladesh.
Here’s how fans reacted to the visuals in Dubai:
GILL SURPASSES KOHLI, DHAWAN TO BECOME…
Gill hits ton as India cruise to victory over Bangladesh
Best shots from Shubman Gill’s century against Bangladesh
ICC Champions Trophy Group A, Dubai
Bangladesh 228 (49.4 overs): Hridoy 100 (118), Jaker 68 (114); Shami 5-53
India 231-4 (46.3 overs): Gill 101* (129), Rohit 41 (36); Rishad Hossain 2-38
India won by six wickets
Scorecard | Table
Shubman Gill scored a superb unbeaten century after Mohammed Shami took 5-53 as India began their Champions Trophy campaign with a six-wicket win over Bangladesh.
Set a modest target of 229 to win, Gill batted through and finished on 101 from 129 balls as India cruised to victory with 3.3 overs to spare.
India made a brilliant start in Dubai as they reduced Bangladesh to 35-5 halfway through the ninth over.
Shami took two wickets and spinner Axar Patel had two in two balls before captain Rohit Sharma dropped a regulation catch at slip to deny him a hat-trick.
Bangladesh avoided further humiliation thanks to a superb stand of 154 between Tawhid Hridoy and Jaker Ali.
It was slow going for large parts but the pair, who stayed together for 34 overs, kicked on after each passed 50.
Shami eventually broke the stand when he removed Jaker for 68, becoming the quickest man to 200 ODI wickets in terms of balls bowled in the process, and went on to complete his sixth five-wicket haul in one-day internationals.
Hridoy brought up his maiden ODI century from 114 balls before he was the last man out with two balls of the innings remaining.
The India chase got off to a swift start with Rohit making a quickfire 41 and Gill soon into his work to put the 2013 winners in command.
Bangladesh fought hard through the middle overs and will rue a dropped catch by Jaker to give KL Rahul a life – had it been taken India would have been five down with 64 runs still needed.
But Gill batted with great poise in a chanceless knock, mixing stylish shots with the requisite resolve to ensure India were never truly concerned.
The 25-year-old eased his way to an eighth ODI century from 129 balls and it was left to Rahul to seal the win with a six hoisted over deep backward square.
Shami takes five wickets to help restrict Bangladesh to 228
India came into the Champions Trophy as strong favourites and nothing that occurred in Dubai suggested that judgement will need reassessing any time soon.
After all, India are a team capable of essentially wrapping up a 100-over match inside nine overs as they did in Dubai.
They let Bangladesh off the hook somewhat from 35-5 but for all Hridoy and Jaker’s valiant efforts, the situation never got away from India.
The chase did not go entirely according to plan either but, again, a fast start had put them in control and, despite the odd misstep, there was no sense that Bangladesh were ever really going to wrestle that from them.
With both bat and ball, India’s quality – and the depth of that quality – is such that it only needs one or two to really perform for them to became incredibly tough to beat.
On this occasion, it was Gill and Shami – the former coolly steering the chase after the latter’s fine efforts with ball in hand.
Shami not only reached 200 ODI wickets, he also overtook to Zaheer Khan to become India’s leading wicket-taker in men’s ICC tournaments.
Even after the best part of a year out through injury, the 34-year-old seamer remains a man India can rely on when the big events come around.
That the same could be said of the majority in India’s squad is what makes them such a formidable team.
They were far from perfect but India are off to a winning start and remain the team to beat.
India captain Rohit Sharma: “Every time we throw the ball at Shami he’s got something up his sleeve. Gill, we know the class that he has. What he showed us with the bat shouldn’t surprise anyone, and he made sure he got to the end.
“Maybe I’ll take Axar for dinner tomorrow. That was an easy catch [for the hat-trick], I should have taken it.”
Player of the match, India opener Shubman Gill: “Definitely one of my most satisfying centuries and my first in ICC events.
“At one point there was pressure on us and the message was to bat to the end which I tried to do.”
Bangladesh captain Najmul Hossain Shanto: “To lose as many wickets in the first powerplay really lost us the game. We were, ultimately, 25 or 30 runs short.
“I was proud of the way Jaker [Ali] and [Towhid] Hridoy batted. We made some mistakes in the field, a few dropped catches and run-outs that should have been taken so the game could have been very different.”
‘He can’t believe it!’ – Rohit drops the ball to deny Patel hat-trick
Next up for India is another highly anticipated clash with Pakistan in Dubai. Victory would put the two-time winners on the brink of qualifying for the semi-finals.
Meanwhile, Bangladesh are back in action on Monday when they take on New Zealand in Rawalpindi.
Group B gets under way on Friday with South Africa taking on Afghanistan in Karachi.
The Proteas won the inaugural Champions Trophy back in 1998 in Bangladesh, while this is the first time Afghanistan have qualified for the tournament.
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