Australia's regular captain, Pat Cummins, who was sidelined from the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 due to an ankle injury, criticized an Australian sports website for misquoting him. Cummins had recently commented on the "advantage" that India gained by playing all their matches at the same venue—the Dubai International Stadium—during the Champions Trophy. However, he was incorrectly reported as labeling the tournament "a farce" due to India's "picking and choosing" of the venue. Code Sport mistakenly attributed remarks made by veteran England cricket commentator Jonathan Agnew to Cummins.

Agnew expressed his concerns to ABC Sport, stating, "I feel very uncomfortable about the way that India is being treated at the moment. This is wrong; if you’re going to play international tournaments, you can’t pick and choose where you play and where you’re not going to play. I don’t see how long this can carry on for? It makes a farce of these tournaments."

Despite this, Code Sports published a graphic on its official X account, incorrectly crediting the quotes to Cummins. The Australian fast bowler took notice and refuted the claims.

"I have definitely never said this," Cummins stated on X.

What Cummins actually said

What Cummins actually conveyed was, "I think it's good in that the tournament can go on, but obviously it does give them (India) a huge advantage playing on the same ground. They already look very strong and they've got that obvious benefit of playing all their games there," as he told 'Yahoo Australia'.

India has won both of their matches against Bangladesh and Pakistan convincingly and has secured a place in the semifinals scheduled for March 4 in Dubai. Their final group match is set for Sunday against New Zealand, a team that has also played in Pakistan, winning both of its games against the home side and Bangladesh.

Cummins is currently observing the tournament from the sidelines due to his ankle injury and is aiming for a return to competitive cricket with the IPL next month. This break coincides with the recent birth of his daughter.

The 31-year-old stated, "It has been pleasant to be at home amidst everything happening, and my ankle rehabilitation is progressing positively. Therefore, I will commence running and bowling this week."

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