ICC WTC final venue to be shifted out of England? Jay Shah delivers a jaw-dropping update

BCCI secretary Jay Shah has said the board has spoken to the International Cricket Council (ICC) over changing the venue for the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) Final.

The WTC was started in 2019 and involves the top nine Test teams playing series over a two-year cycle. At the end of the cycle, the top two teams qualify for the final. At present, there is no set rule for choosing the venue for the WTC final but England have been the preferred venue so far.

Both the WTC finals have been played in England while the third is also scheduled to be played in the same country in 2025. The match is set to be played at the iconic Lord's in England. However, there could be a new venue for the WTC final in 2027 and the discussion over the same has already started.

Also Read: T20 World Cup 2024: Jay Shah provides massive update on Hardik Pandya's future in white-ball cricket

Speaking to the media, Jay Shah revealed the development. At the same time, the BCCI official also highlighted the challenges of finalizing a new venue for the all-important game. Both the WTC finals were played in June and it is tough to conduct the game at that time in India or Australia due to the weather conditions.

"We have spoken to the ICC for 2027. They will consider changing the venue," said Jay Shah before adding:

"There are only three main Test centers, India, England, and Australia. You cannot hold it in Australia during that window or even in India. Even in Bengaluru, it rains during that time."

Changing the venue or even finding a new window will be a humongous task for the ICC. There is a big possibility that the apex body of the game might need to make a significant change to its Future Tours Programme in case it decides to conduct the WTC final at a different venue.

When Rohit Sharma was disappointed over the WTC final venue and timing:

Last year, India captain Rohit Sharma had expressed his disappointment over the venue as well timing of the WTC final after his team suffered a crushing 209-run loss against Australia. It was India's second successive loss in the WTC final. In 2021, they had lost against New Zealand.

"Why after the IPL final? Why cannot it be March? June is not the only month we should play the final," Rohit had said. "It can be played any time of the year and anywhere in the world, not just in England, it can be played anywhere in the world."