Indian legendary batsman Sachin Tendulkar believes it should have been the World Test Championship series instead of the WTC final. ICC decided to organise only one Test to finalise the winner of the World Test Championship, which is a tad unfair. All the teams fought hard for more than two years for a place in the final and there should have been the best of three Test matches to decide the ultimate winner.
In fact, India’s head coach Ravi Shastri had also spoken on the same lines. Meanwhile, India was the most consistent team of the World Test Championship cycle as they won 12 matches out of the 17 they played and finished with a winning percentage of 72.2 On the other hand, New Zealand won seven matches and ended with a winning percentage of 70 to finish at the second place in the standings and made it to the final of the tournament.
“In the case of Test cricket, to get to the final, you’re playing two or three Test series, or for that matter, against four matches in a series. And then you play just one Test to decide the championship.”
“Where’s the continuity? It should actually be a World Test Championship series, not just one match. Because to get to this point, you’ve played Test series involving two or three Tests or more. So, it shouldn’t have just been a World Test Championship Final but the World Test Championship Final Series. Because you’ve played a series to get to this point,” Tendulkar pointed out during a chat with TOI.
Meanwhile the Master Blaster reckons New Zealand will hold the advantage in the World Test Championship final against India as they have played two Test matches against England. The Kiwis went on to beat the hosts in the second Test match.
“This is, without any doubt, another way to look at it. New Zealand will have that slight edge because they’ve played the two Tests against England while India haven’t had practice matches except for playing between themselves,” the legend added.
The WTC final will take place at Ageas Bowl, Southampton from June 18.