India captain Virat Kohli said he was not in agreement of deciding the best Test team in the world with a one-off World Test Championship final, instead insisting there should be a three-match series to decide the winner. Kohli’s comments came after India lost to New Zealand by 8 wickets in the ICC WTC final in Southampton, but he said the result did not play a part in his opinion.
“I’m not in absolute agreement of deciding the best Test team in the world over one game, to be honest. It can’t just be pressure applied over two days, and you’re not a good side. It definitely has to be worked in the future. Over three matches, there are ups and downs, there are chances to rectify mistakes… So we’re not too bothered by this result.If you saw the way the game went… why wouldn’t you want to see three Tests? Historically, all the great series you’ve seen in Tests, you remember them over 3 or 5 matches. This definitely has to be brought in. I’m not saying just because we’re not on the winning side.”
Kohli was then asked if the championship should be turned into a four-year cycle with teams facing each other more times, instead of the current two-year version.
I haven’t ever thought about this (two year cycle vs four years), there are other tournaments as well which are big. This is not for me to put together. I just believe that it (final) should be done over a course of three matches.”
India’s coach Ravi Shastri too had earlier said a best-of-three final would be an ideal way to determine the winner at the end of the WTC’s two-year cycle.
ICC acting CEO Geoff Allardice then said that would be possible only “in a perfect world”.
“The reality of the international cricket schedule is that we’re not going to have that month or so, blocking out a month or so for all the teams in the tournament for a final…” Allardice told a virtual news conference. “That’s why (a) one-match final was decided upon.”
The WTC was launched in 2019 to create a pinnacle event for five-day international cricket, following the successes of the T20 and 50-over World Cups. (News18)
