Virat Kohli will be leading India in the two Test matches against West Indies next month (File Photo)Indian captain Virat Kohli Monday praised the introduction of the World Test Championship, which is a bid by the International Cricket Council’s project to make cricket’s oldest format relevant.
Launched last Monday, the World Test Championship (WTC) will comprise of nine teams, namely, India, New Zealand, South Africa, England, Australia, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, West Indies and Bangladesh. The WTC is set to begin from August 1, when the Ashes, cricket’s oldest rivalry between England and Australia, starts at Edgbaston, Birmingham. The WTC will run till June 2021 when two finalists will play for the title at Lord’s in London.
“We are awaiting the ICC World Test Championship with great enthusiasm as it adds context to the longest format of the game. Test cricket is very challenging and coming out on top in the traditional form is always highly satisfying. The Indian team has done really well in recent years and will be fancying its chances in the championship,” said Kohli.
Under Kohli’s leadership, India are presently on top of the ICC Test rankings, winning their first-ever series in Australia earlier this year. They will take on West Indies in the first test of their tour on August 22 at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in North Sound, Antigua.
Maintaining their form, Kohli and his men will look to stake claim in the championship which will have a total of 71 matches spread across 27 series over two years. There is a point allocation system, where each team will play three home and three away series. Each series will count for 120 points, distributed over the number of matches in a series.
The number of matches in each series can vary between a minimum of two matches, to a maximum of five matches. The first cycle of the championship will include day-night matches.
