Champions Trophy 2025: Impressive India win but tournament shows cricket at risk of apathy

India secured a thrilling four-wicket victory over New Zealand in the final of the 2025 Champions Trophy held in Dubai, ultimately claiming the championship trophy. This victory solidifies India's leading position in the world of cricket, following their T20 World Cup win last June, and also alleviates the pain of losing to Australia in the 50-over World Cup held in Ahmedabad 16 months prior.

While thousands of Indian fans celebrated the victory in the desert city, the lack of suspense in this tournament's ending should sound an alarm for the governing bodies of world cricket. From the outset, the competition seemed to revolve around the Indian team, watching their matches felt more like an exhibition game, while other matches were held in Pakistan. Teams flew to Dubai to face the 11 superstars in blue jerseys, while thousands of fans wore jerseys with the names of these players.

The Indian team's inability to travel to Pakistan to participate was due to the long-standing political tensions between the two countries. The International Cricket Council (ICC) has been in a dilemma. Without India's participation, the event would be affected, as the Indian market accounts for a large portion of the ICC's revenue, reportedly as high as 80%. However, canceling Pakistan's opportunity to host its first major event in 29 years at the last minute was equally unfeasible. Ultimately, the Indian team played in one city, stayed in the same hotel, and the controversy over the advantages they enjoyed persisted throughout.

New Zealand flew over 7,000 kilometers to participate in the competition, while the closest Indian players got to a plane was when Kuldeep Yadav spread his arms in celebration after taking the crucial wicket of Rachin Ravindra in the final. After the semi-final, Mohammed Shami stated that the situation "absolutely" helped them. However, in the same room, coach Gautam Gambhir stated that anyone who said that needed to "grow up."

The future of international cricket is not threatened by a decline in quality, but by indifference. This tournament has once again shown that the quality of international white-ball cricket remains high, despite two matches being canceled due to rain and too many one-sided contests. Australian batsman Josh Inglis's century against England was a classic, Ravindra continues to emerge as a future star of the sport, and Afghan all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai should be a target for every top team in Wednesday's draft.