World Test Championship: ICC Confident Of Hosting India Vs New Zealand Final As Planned Despite UK’s ‘Red List’ Travel Ban

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Monday said that it is confident of hosting the World Test Championship final as planned in spite of the rising COVID-19 situation. The final of the ICC World Test Championship is going to be played in England (UK). India and New Zealand will lock horns with each other in the final of the ICC World Test Champion. The match is scheduled to be played from June 18-22 at Ageas Bowl in Southampton.

The United Kingdom added India to its travel ‘red list’ banning arrivals from the country. The travel ban is due to the reason that India is experiencing a second wave of COVID-19 pandemic. As a result, India is experiencing a huge number of Covid-19 cases on a day-to-day basis.

World Test Championship Final Will Go Ahead As Planned: ICC

ICC has stated that they are in talks with the UK government over the matter. ICC also said that they are confident that World Test Championship Final will go ahead as planned in June.

“We are currently discussing with the UK Government the impact of countries being on the ‘red list’.

“The ECB and other Members have demonstrated how we can stage international cricket safely in the middle of a pandemic, and we are confident that we can continue to do that and that the World Test Championship Final will go ahead as planned in June in the UK,” an ICC spokesperson said.

The inaugural edition of the ICC World Test Championship commenced in 2019. There were 9 countries that were part of the tournament. Teams were allotted points on the basis of their victories against other teams in the bilateral Test series.

New Zealand was the first team to seal its place in the final after defeating Pakistan in the Test series last year. India defeated Australia 2-1 in an away 4-match Test series earlier this year. Later, Virat Kohli and co. defeated England 3-1 in the home Test series to become the second finalists of the ICC World Test Championship.

During the tournament, India played 6 Test series. Out of which, India won 12 matches and lost 4 while 1 game ended in a draw. New Zealand, on the other hand, played 5 Test series, won 7 matches and lost 4. India finished on the top of the points table of ICC World Test Championship while New Zealand finished on the second spot.