WTC champions should get to host the final of the following edition: Pat Cummins
Australia face South Africa in the ICC World Test Championship Final 2025 at Lord’s. Pat Cummins suggests previous winners should host future WTC finals as BCCI eyes 2027 bid.
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The ICC World Test Championship (WTC) final will be hosted in England for the third time in a row when the defending champions, Australia, meet South Africa at the historic Lord's Cricket Ground on June 11. While the finals have been held at Southampton (2021) and The Oval (2023) before this, now there is a question mark hovering over England's monopoly of the hosting rights.
Australian skipper Pat Cummins has proposed a revitalizing concept, with the winner of the last edition hosting the next final. "It'd be nice, perhaps the last winner hosts that for the next time. But as a backup plan, I feel having it at Lord's every cycle is also a pretty good place," Cummins told India Today in an interview.
Cummins' statements are in line with the recent indications of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) being interested in hosting the final of the 2027 WTC. In a recent ICC meeting in Zimbabwe, the BCCI is said to have indicated its willingness to bid for the prestigious event. Having Jay Shah at the top of the ICC hierarchy now has improved India's chances of acquiring hosting rights immensely.
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Australia Aim for Back-to-Back Titles as Cummins Calls for Hosting Reform
Australia, meanwhile, is chasing history. After beating India by 209 runs in the 2023 final, Cummins’ men are aiming to become the first team to win two WTC titles. Their journey to this year’s final included strong series wins over both India and Sri Lanka.
Even though he enjoys the WTC mace, Cummins remains to put Australia's 2023 ODI World Cup triumph at number one. "The ODI World Cup of 2023 will be tough to surpass. But I think the WTC mace is just second to that in significance," he added.
As more voices urge a WTC final venue rotation and ensuring equity, Cummins' proposal to allocate hosting to the last season's winner is one towards more international representation in the red-ball format. That remains to be seen, but at least the debate has started.
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