The inaugural edition of World Test Championship (WTC) started on August 1 last year with the Ashes series between Australia and England. The tournament features 9 of the 12 Test-playing nations, each of whom will play a Test series against six of the other eight teams. The top two sides are scheduled to play the final at Lord’s in June 2021.
However, the COVID-19 pandemic has brought cricket to a grinding halt with tours being either suspended or cancelled. And the International Cricket Council (ICC) is now keeping a tab on the issue as it might have to rework the schedule of the championship.
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As of now, two WTC fixtures have been officially postponed. While Australia's proposed two-Test tour of Bangladesh in June got deferred last week, England flew home from their two-Test tour of Sri Lanka last month due to Coronavirus outbreak.
“We will continue planning for the events as they are, but as you would expect we are undertaking a comprehensive business continuity and contingency planning exercise which will allow us to adapt to the rapidly evolving world in which we find ourselves. This includes exploring all options available to us based on a range of scenarios connected to the pandemic. No decisions have been taken at present,” an ICC official told IANS.
Reacting to the situation, a BCCI official said that it will need an inclusive team effort from not just the governing body, but also all its members to ensure that the right step is taken in these testing times.
“Everyone will need to rework their own internal issues first. Nothing can effectively be solved till everyone puts their heads together, i.e. all the boards. This pandemic will seriously test the ICC and its leadership especially given its string of decisions over the last 3-4 years,” the official said.
Given the gravity of the epidemic, some more forthcoming WTC fixtures are expected to be rescheduled. Recently, ECB director of cricket Ashley Giles said that he doesn’t see the series against West Indies happening in June. England were scheduled to play 3 Tests against West Indies.
Last month, Pakistan head coach Misbah Ul Haq had called for the extension of World Test Championship duration once things return to normalcy.
“When we finally start moving back to normal life and cricket can resume, every side should get equal opportunities and the tournament shouldn’t be shortened. No matches should be struck off, even if that means prolonging the championship. Every side should get the chance to play all the games they had scheduled in this cycle.
“Otherwise, you won’t get the true picture of what the rankings should have actually been and only some teams play all their games. That will disrupt the balance of the tournament. To me, it doesn’t matter if this goes beyond 2021 if that’s what it will take for everyone to get equal opportunities. That’s not a problem,” Misbah had said.
(With IANS inputs)
