India will seek to host the World Test Championship final in 2027

With the England Cricket Board having hosted the last two World Test Championship Final and the next WTC final between Australia and South Africa later in June this year, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had shown interest in bidding to host the WTC final in 2027.

As reported by The Guardian, the Indian board is keen to host the WTC final following the WTC cycle and had put in the bid intention for the 2027 final at the ICC Chief Executives Committee meeting in Zimbabwe last month.

The chief executive of India’s Board of Control for Cricket, Arun Singh Dhumal, is on the ICC committee, and his predecessor, Jay Shah, is the ICC’s chair, so a formal Indian candidacy would be considered a fait accompli, according to The Guardian.

Although the England Cricket Board had never presumed to be hosting the WTC final for all eternity, the English summer and strong domestic ticketing demand, irrespective of which teams qualify, make it the natural choice.

The 2021 World Test Championship final between India and New Zealand was staged in England, before the final that occurred between India and Australia was held at The Oval. This year’s WTC final will be held at Lord’s between Australia and South Africa from June 11 to June 25.

The ICC is concerned about the WTC final in India

According to the study, awarding India the hosting rights for the World Test Championship final might cause major problems for the ICC. The biggest source of concern is India’s worsening ties with Pakistan, which have reached an all-time low owing to continued tensions between the countries.

India and Pakistan haven’t played a bilateral series since the 2012/13 season, and their last Test series was in 2007. They do, however, compete against one another in the Asia Cups and the ICC event. India has also not visited Pakistan since 2008, and it declined to travel there earlier this year for the Champions Trophy.

The ICC is also worried about hosting the WTC final in India, but primarily, the risk of low ticket sales if India does not qualify. The final next month at Lord’s is sold out for the first four days, and the 2023 final at the Oval was sold out even though England did not feature, the report further stated.

Can India get the chance to host the final of the WTC? Wait for the final decision.

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