The best of three finals will be ideal in the long run – Ravi Shastri on WTC future

The Indian head coach Ravi Shastri has mooted the idea of three finals for the future of the World Test Championship. India and New Zealand will face each other in the final of the WTC at Southampton but there will be only the final to decide the champion.

In fact, all the teams have fought hard over the last two years for a place in the final of the World Test Championship. Thus, it makes all the sense to have three Test matches to decide the winner of the tournament rather than only one.

India was the best team of the WTC 2019-21 cycle as they won 12 matches out of the 17 they played and finished at the top of the points table with a winning percentage of 72.2. On the other hand, New Zealand won seven matches to finish at the second place in the table.

“I think ideally, in the long run, if they want to persist with this Test championship, a best of three final would be ideal,” Shastri said. “A three-match series as a culmination of two-and-a-half years around the globe… Ideally going forward, best of three would be ideal, but we’ve got to finish it as quickly as possible because of the FTP that will start all over again so one off is a one off and the guys have earned their stripes.”

Shastri added that it is the biggest event in the Test format if not the best ever and his team understands the importance of the big match against New Zealand.

“See it is the first time that you have the World Test Championship final. When you look at that and the magnitude of the game that’s going to be played, I think this is the biggest, if not the biggest ever,” he said. “It is the toughest form of the game. It is a format that tests you, it doesn’t happen over three days or three months, it’s happened over two years – where teams have played each other around the world and earned their stripes to play the final. So it is one heck of an event.”

India and New Zealand have been two top Test teams in the last few years and it is expected to be an exciting final between them. Both the teams will look to bring their best to the table when they will take on each other. The WTC final will take place at Ageas Bowl, Southampton from June 18.