What is ICC World Test Championship?
ICC introduced theWorld Test Championship to honour the importance of Test cricket. The final will be played between India and New Zealand in June 2021.
ICC introduced the World Test Championship to honour the importance of the longest format of the game and to start a pinnacle level of competition in Test cricket like World Cups in the ODI and T20I formats.
The top nine ranked teams on the MRF Tyres ICC Test Team Rankings as on 31 March 2018 qualified for the WTC. Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and the West Indies were the teams competing in the WTC. However the teams in the lower order - Afghanistan, Ireland and Zimbabwe -were not a part of the Test Championship. The World Test Championship started on 1st August 2019 and comprised nine teams. These 9 teams competed in 71 Test matches in two years. Each of the nine teams in the WTC will play six of the eight opponents, with three series at home and three series away. The number of matches in each series can vary between a minimum of two matches to a maximum of five matches. ICC would be responsible for the points and ranking during the tournament.
The ICC has worked with Members Boards who are responsible for all organizational matters including venues, broadcast, ticketing, etc. The ICC was responsible for providing match officials and ensuring matches are played as per the laws of the game. ICC is completely responsible for delivery of the ICC World Test Championship final including broadcast rights.
Now after winning the four-Test series by a 3-1, India have booked their place in the ICC World Test Championship final from 18th June. They will play against New Zealand . The winners would be crowned as World Test Champions.
The second WTC is scheduled from June 2021 to 30 April 2023.
