Our Bureau
London
The debate around where the World Test Championship Final should be held has been going for some years now. Two of the greatest captains of the modern era, Australia’s Pat Cummins and India’s Rohit Sharma have had their opinions regarding the finals being in England every time. Despite all the ruckus around no change is expected as it is quite close to agreement that they will be hosting the next cycle.
There have been reports which have suggested that the England Cricket Board (ECB) has been informed by the International Cricket Council (ICC) that they are planning to host the finals clash for the next three cycles of WTC in England. This will mean that the finals for WTC 2027, 2029 and 2031 will be hosted by the English board.
The reports stated, “English cricket is close to agreeing to host the next three World Test Championship finals despite an attempt from India to stage the show-piece event. The World Test Championship (WTC) began in 2019 and has run three two-year cycles, all of which concluded with a final in England in June.”
The final decision is going to be taken on the matter after the conclusion of the ongoing finals between South Africa and Australia. Next month ICC will have its annual conference in Singapore where the decision will be finalised.
“It is expected that the decision will be rubber-stamped at the ICC’s Annual Conference in Singapore next month, but the ECB are expected to begin planning the 2027 edition of the WTC final promptly after the current one, between Australia and South Africa, ends,” the report added.
The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have expressed their constant interest in getting the rights to host a WTC Final for the upcoming editions. Despite their constant attempts the honor of hosting the finals is likely to be given to England for the upcoming cycles of the event.
