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After criticism from former England captains and a few former and current cricketers over India having advantage of playing their all ICC Champions Trophy 2025 matches in Dubai, ICC's move ahead of semifinals has caused controversy as well. Both semifinalists from Group B, South Africa and Australia have taken a flight to Dubai to train there as who will play India in the semifinal will be decided after the last league stage clash of the tournament. After the clash between India and New Zealand, either South Africa or Australia will return to Pakistan for their semifinal against New Zealand. However, South Africa's left-arm pacer Marco Jansen who took a three-fer against England did not complain about the tight scheduling.
"Yeah, I don't mind it. I haven't played golf in a long time, so I'm looking forward to that. Yeah, no we don't - luckily it's a short flight. It's an hour-and-a-half flight, so it's sort of like a domestic flight back home. It's not too much of a hassle, or if you can call it like that. But yeah, like I said, I'm pretty excited to play some golf," Marco Jansen told the reporters in a press conference on March 1.
South Africa will go up against India if New Zealand beat the Rohit Sharma-led side as the Proteas finished at the top of Group B. While a few teams have expressed their concerns over India playing all their matches at one venue, Jansen did not want to add fuel to the fire.
"Yeah, we'll see how they do against New Zealand because obviously that's going to determine who we play in the semi-final, and that also will tell us where we're playing. But if we play in Dubai and it's against India, obviously they've had training and that kind of stuff, so they will be more used to the conditions. But we've also played in Dubai, so it's not something new. We play spin really, really well. So, I don't think it's that much of an advantage, if you can say it like that. I just think it all comes down to who plays better on the day," he added.
The last time South Africa played an ODI in Dubai was in 2013. South Africa have won two and lost two ODIs at the venue. The last time they played a T20I in Dubai was in 2021.
Final venue undecided
The first semifinal will be played on March 4 in Dubai. The second semifinal is scheduled to be played on March 5 at The Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore. If India progress to the final as well, the other finalist will travel to Dubai again. The final will be played on March 9. If India don't qualify, then the final will be played in Dubai.
