Former Indian cricketer and popular commentator Aakash Chopra has suggested a few changes for the second edition of the World Test Championship (WTC). The International Cricket Council (ICC) has already confirmed the schedule of the second World Test Championship (WTC) cycle (2021-23) which begins from the upcoming series between India and England in August this year.
The inaugural edition of the Test Championship was a huge success for the ICC with New Zealand emerging as champions after defeating India in the final which was played at the Rose Bowl in Southampton.
“There are a couple of suggestions. You will not be able to change anything else as you have already announced that there will be only six series and home and away will have the same weightage but I have a suggestion for the final. The team that tops the WTC table should host the final,” Chopra said in a video on his YouTube channel.
The likes of Ravi Shastri and Virat Kohli among others have already batted for best-of-three finals to decide the World Test champions going ahead. Chopra believes ICC should let the table-toppers be the host nation if there is a one-off final and in case of a best-of-three scenario, he said any country can host the summit clash.
“You might have to move the final two-three months here or there because of that but it is fine if you are playing just one match. If you are going to have three, it is great, then you can do it anywhere,” said Chopra.
He also suggested eliminating the coin toss and hand an advantage to the visiting team in case of a one-off final. Chopra said the coin toss should be removed and the visitors should be allowed to decide if they want to bat or bowl first. Chopra said letting the table-toppers host the final will also bring in more fans who will come to support their team.
“When you are doing this, you should eliminate the toss. You should give the toss to the visitor, he can decide but it should happen where the hosts are,” said Chopra.
“When you do it in the host nation, there will be huge crowds which you are always worried about. So you will not have to think too much about that,” he added.
