The captains of three top Test sides: India, England and New Zealand have reacted to the tweak in the WTC rules made by ICC.
“Each match of the upcoming WTC will now be contested for the same number of points – 12 for a win, four for a draw and six for a tie, moving away from the previous system where the same number of points were allocated to each series, divided across the number of matches played," ICC said in a release.
India captain Virat Kohli will be leading his side in what would be the first series in the new WTC cycle. He said he is looking forward to it.
“It was great to have played the final of the ICC World Test Championship against New Zealand in what was a memorable contest. Not just the final, we saw the determination of players throughout the first edition of the championship.
“The following of cricket lovers too was great to see, and I am sure they will all be waiting eagerly for the second edition. We will regroup with new energy for the next cycle starting with our series against England, hoping to give our fans a lot to cheer about," said, Kohli, the captain of WTC runner-up India, as quoted by ICC.
Meanwhile opposition captain Joe Root will be having some competition when his side takes on India. Here’s his take on the whole affair. "
“We start our campaign in the second edition of the ICC World Test Championship against the finalists of last time, which is an interesting challenge straight away. India are a fine all-round side and it would be good to test them in our home conditions.
“We narrowly missed out on qualifying for the final last time and are looking to do better this time. Test cricket is a format we all want to excel in and with points at stake for each match, everyone has to be at their best all the time," Root said.
Kane Williamson, who won the trophy this year, also weighed in as he will be the one defending the trophy. "
“It was obviously pretty special to win the inaugural ICC World Test Championship in Southampton last month and it’s exciting to now look ahead to the second edition.
“The WTC has certainly added more context and brought new meaning to Test cricket and it was awesome to see the interest that was generated around the Final against India. We know trying to defend the title will be a huge challenge, but our focus will be on making sure we prepare as well as we can for the tours ahead and trying to maintain our level of performance,” he said.
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