Team India captain reasons that the demands of a packed schedule means three-match final format will help arrive at a deserving winner
Pat Cummins and Rohit Sharma
India skipper Rohit Sharma has said that the World Test Championship should be decided in a three-match series. “Teams that aspire to play the WTC final have to work hard to get there. One bad game and they may not win the trophy. But if it becomes a three-match contest, the world gets a real winner,” Rohit told mid-day at the Oval on Tuesday.
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Rohit Sharma
It can be recalled that then head coach Ravi Shastri felt the same when his team took on New Zealand for WTC final honours in 2021.
“Ideally, in the long run, if they want to pursue this Test Championship, a best-of-three final would be ideal as a culmination of two and a half years of cricket around the globe. We have got to finish it as quickly as possible due to the FTP (Future Tours Program) that will start all over again,” Shastri said then.
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Meanwhile, Rohit said players have to take the demanding schedule in their stride. “The schedule is such that every cricketer has to to cope with it. One has to manage the load. The team are aware of this and we are working accordingly. That’s why a three-match final would have been the best,” signed off Rohit.
India lost the 2021 WTC final to New Zealand at the Rose Bowl in Southampton, by eight wickets. In a poor first innings, India totalled just 217 with Ajinkya Rahane top-scoring with 49.