It's India vs Travis Head, not Australia: Karthik pinpoints IND's 'mental block'

Former India cricketer Dinesh Karthik feels the first semifinal match of the 2025 Champions Trophy will be India against Travis Head, and not Australia, as he reiterated Ravi Shastri's old remark. The two most prolific teams in Champions Trophy history will lock horns on Tuesday at the Dubai International Stadium for a spot in the final.

Head has long been India's nemesis across formats. In 2023, the Aussie batter denied India the title in the World Test Championship final. Later that same year, a ravishing century in Ahmedabad saw India incur a heartbreaking loss in the 2023 ODI World Cup final. And if that was not enough, he once again stood as the difference in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy earlier this year, where India suffered a series defeat.

Speaking on the Sky Sports Podcast, alongside England greats Nasser Hussain and Mike Atherton, Karthik outlined the importance of Head's wicket for India in the semifinal clash.

"It used to be New Zealand for a wee bit. In these knockout games, they always had the better of India, but you have to say it's Australia at this point of time. If at all, there is a team that they would think that on most days they'll challenge India has to be Australia. And it's actually what Ravi Shastri said, you know, at this point of time, the mental block is more one player than Australia itself, Travis Head," said Karthik.

With Head set to open for Australia, Karthik added that his early dismissal will be a huge sigh of relief for India.

"He has actually, in any format. And they will be looking for that wicket because that wicket early will actually make them breathe a lot easier for the rest of the game, because World Test Championship Final, the recently concluded Australia Series, World Cup Final, you take any big game, he's actually scored once. And he's been the difference between winning and losing," said Karthik.

Atherton interrupts Steve Smith

During the podcast, the former England captain pointed out that Smith had walked out to inspect the pitch in Dubai. While Nasser jokingly asked Atherton to move on, the latter, trying to interrupt the Australia captain, said: "I'm going to tell you now, it will be bad and it's going to spin."

As the camera panned towards Smith, Nasser and Karthik burst into laughter.

Earlier it was reported that India and Australia will get a fresh pitch in Dubai for the semifinal game, one that has not yet been used in any of India's group-stage fixtures.