Senior South Africa batter David Miller has voiced his displeasure at the International Cricket Council (ICC) for the scheduling of the 2025 Champions Trophy.
Miller’s comments came after South Africa’s defeat to New Zealand in the semi-finals on Wednesday. The strange scheduling of the Champions Trophy forced both Australia and South Africa to travel from Pakistan to Dubai after the group stage, in preparation for a possible semi-final clash against India.
“It’s only a 1 hour and 40-minute flight, but the fact that we had to do that was not ideal,” Miller said after South Africa’s exit from the tournament. The South African team flew from Karachi to Dubai on Sunday afternoon and returned to Lahore on Monday.
“It was early morning, right after a game, and we had to fly. We got to Dubai at 4:00 pm, and by 7:30 am, we had to return. It wasn’t the best situation. It’s not like we flew five hours and had enough time to recover and recuperate; it was just not an ideal scenario,” he added.
Miller, who scored an impressive unbeaten 67-ball century, including 10 fours and four sixes, saw his efforts go in vain as South Africa fell short by 50 runs in their chase of a Champions Trophy record total of 363 runs.
The 2025 Champions Trophy final between India and New Zealand is scheduled for Sunday, March 9, at the Dubai International Stadium.
