India's Champions Trophy triumph labelled 'hollow triumph' and 'tainted victory' by British and Australian press

India asserted itself as the most dominant limited-overs team in the world after defeating New Zealand in the final of the ICC Champions Trophy on Sunday and winning the ‘Mini World Cup’ for a record third time. India thus surged ahead of Australia (2006 and 2009) to become the most successful team in the tournament’s history, having previously shared the trophy with hosts Sri Lanka in 2002 and defeated hosts England in the final of the 2013 edition.

It was also India’s second triumph in an ICC event in as many years, with the Men in Blue having ended an 11-year drought by winning the T20 World Cup in June last year. And if one takes their runner-up finish in the ICC World Cup at home in 2023, that’s three consecutive finals in ICC events.

As for their record in these three events, the Rohit Sharma-led team has won a staggering 23 matches out of 25, with just one defeat and a washout. The kind of dominance that the Indian team has exhibited recently certainly earns them a comparison with legendary teams such as Australia of the late 1990s and 2000s – in ICC white-ball events at the very least, if not across all formats.

Global media cries foul over India’s triumph

The Men in Blue’s four-wicket victory over the Black Caps in Sunday’s final led to euphoric celebrations at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium as well as Diwali-like scenes in the cricket-mad nation.

The British and Australian press were less than impressed, stating that their triumph was “tainted” and that they ultimately won what was a “farcical tournament”.

In his piece for The Guardian headlined “We should love this India team but Champions Trophy felt a hollow triumph”, Daniel Gallan argues that while Rohit Sharma and company have earned the right to be counted among the greatest limited-overs teams in the history of the sport, the “gerrymandering of the tournament’s schedule, the endless riches, the stadium announcer acting as a cheerleader at a venue that was ostensibly neutral” have put an asterisk on their achievements.

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BBC, meanwhile, published an article by Matthew Henry with the headline, “Does cricket risk apathy if status quo continues?”, in which the writer opines that the “the tame inevitability of this tournament should act as a warning sign to those running the world game”.

🏏The farce of 🇿🇦's itinerary at the Champions Trophy is just the latest example of cricket bending to 🇮🇳's will. Woe betide anyone who dares point this out.
PLUS
🇵🇰's damp squib
The bizarre fat-shaming of Rohit Sharma
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Jos Buttler's inevitable fatehttps://t.co/qExzQSWUjk

— Lawrence Booth (@BoothCricket) March 4, 2025

Australia’s ABC News, meanwhile, ran a piece with the headline, “Champions Trophy win cements India’s status as cricket’s best team, an achievement that is sadly tainted” in which the writer Chris De Silva makes a statement similar to that of Gallan.

“The saddest part of it all is that the scheduling questions have tainted the victory of a side that now has to be considered among some of the greatest white ball teams in the history of the sport,” wrote De Silva.

Also Read | Is Dubai advantage the reason behind India’s dominance in Champions Trophy

Fox Cricket, meanwhile, chose to focus on New Zealand’s hectic travel while discussing key talking points from the Champions Trophy with the headline," The 7048km truth behind Indian glory; salt in wounds for Kiwis as curse continues".

Critical as they were of India’s incredible feat over the last couple of years, it’s worth noting that the British and Australian press is known for not holding back when it comes to slamming players and teams for non-performance or for other reasons, especially when it comes to their own national teams.