South Africa's star batter David Miller has slammed the International Cricket Council (ICC) after his team went for a short trip to Dubai before playing a semifinal against New Zealand on Thursday, March 5. The statement came out after South Africa suffered a heartbreaking loss by 50 runs while chasing a target of 363 runs against the Kiwis in the semifinals. Miller scored a quick century (100 off 67 balls) that eventually went in vain.

Miller expressed dissatisfaction over the complex scheduling of matches

The poor scheduling of the Champions Trophy 2025 resulted in the travel of Australia and South Africa to Dubai from Pakistan after completing their group stage matches. It was done to avoid the hassle so that both teams get enough time for practice before their potential semifinal against India. Since India finished as the table toppers of Group A after a win over New Zealand, South Africa went back to Pakistan after staying for less than 24 hrs in Dubai. This situation occurred following India's refusal to travel to Pakistan for CT2025 due to political tensions and security concerns between the nations.

He stated, "It's only an hour and 40-minute flight, but the fact that we had to do that was not ideal. It's early morning; it's after a game, and we had to fly. Then we got to Dubai at 4:00 pm. And at 7.30 am we had to come back. It doesn't make it nice. It's not like we flew five hours, and we had enough time to recover and recuperate, but it was not an ideal situation still."

Miller backs New Zealand to win the Champions Trophy 2025

David Miller, who scored a 67-ball century against the Kiwis, will be supporting them in the finals against India. The player has predicted a cracking contest between the two sides on Sunday, March 9.

"I'll be honest with you. I think I'll be supporting New Zealand," said Miller.