‘Hopefully, one day all this stops’ – Former Australian cricketer hopes to see India and Pakistan resume bilateral cricket

Former Australian player Brad Hogg wants to see bilateral cricket between India and Pakistan resume. The two sides last met each other in the ongoing Champions Trophy tournament in Dubai, which Rohit Sharma’s side won by six wickets. Virat Kohli’s century saw hosts and defending champions Pakistan get knocked out of the tournament. 

Sportskeeda quoted the former Aussie as saying, “At the end of the day, we wanted India to play the Champions Trophy. This political issue with Pakistan prevented them from playing over there. Hopefully, one day, all this stops so the cricketing relations between the two nations resume. This is the scenario we are all in. Australia did not complain. They accepted it and got beaten by a better team on a particular day. I think the only team that can beat India in Dubai is New Zealand”

Hogg also came out in support of India, who have been called out for playing all their matches in Dubai. The 54-year-old said, “You are playing at one venue. You have played all your games there and gotten used to the conditions. Gautam Gambhir came out and said, 'Look, you shouldn't be complaining as it is a neutral venue for us as well. ' But then, Shami came out on top of that and said that playing in Dubai has helped his bowling and playing at one particular venue has worked for him. So, that made others think that India are having a slight advantage”

Brad Hogg gives slight advantage to India in CT2025 finals 

Former Australian spinner Brad Hogg had given India a slight advantage ahead of the CT2025 finals on Sunday. During his chat with NDTV, Hogg said, “India are obviously the favourites because they have already played four games in Dubai”. Australia's former spinner had said that if Matt Henry misses the game, then India will start on the front foot. 

Henry missed the game after he hurt his shoulder while taking a catch in the second semi-finals of the Champions Trophy 2025. “The Kiwi spinners Michael Bracewell and Mitchell Santner are good enough to trouble Indian batters in Dubai. The only thing for New Zealand is Matt Henry. If he is not fit for the final, then India can easily win the game, but if he's there, then I am slightly leaning towards the Kiwis,” said Hogg. 

New Zealand, batting first, scored 251 for the loss of seven wickets in the finals. Daryl Mitchell (63) and Michael Bracewell (53*) helped the Kiwis set a challenging total on the board. Varun Chakravarthy and Kuldeep Yadav were the best bowlers for the Men in Blue, with two wickets each.