"That is not good for the fans out there. ICC, wake up, please" - Brad Hogg on the WTC final being contested after 2023 IPL

Former Australian spinner Brad Hogg has expressed disappointment at the fact that fans have to wait three months for the final of the World Test Championship (WTC).

Most of the matches of the ongoing cycle have almost come to an end. The final between India and Australia, which was determined following Sri Lanka's loss to New Zealand in the first Test, will take place from June 7 onwards.

The 2023 Indian Premier League (IPL) will be staged in the interim period, which has elicited several concerns from both fans and experts.

Many believe the constant action in the T20 league, where 74 matches will be played in two months, will leave the fans more than saturated and diminish the excitement of the WTC final.

Hogg echoed that sentiment while speaking on his YouTube channel, questioning the ICC's scheduling.

"What are the ICC doing? The main games have all finished and now we have got to wait for 3 months for the WTC Final. That is not good for the fans out there. ICC, wake up, please," he said.

"All of the momentum, the excitement by then will have dissipated. By the time the WTC Final comes along after the IPL, everyone has had enough of cricket and they probably would not be interested in the final," he added.

The WTC final is scheduled to take place from June 7 to 11 at The Oval in London. The 2023 IPL, meanwhile, will take place from March 31 to May 28, leaving only a short gap for the fatigued players to prepare and travel to England.

Team India skipper Rohit Sharma recently mentioned that the players whose campaigns end early by dint of not qualifying for the playoffs, might travel to England early in a bid to get ready as soon as possible.

"Around 21st May, there will be six teams who will be possibly out of IPL play-off contention and so whichever players are available, we will try and find time to get them to UK early as possible and get some time and we will monitor as much as possible," he said after India clinched the Border-Gavaskar Trophy for the fourth time running.

"I don't think that the WTC Final should be played at a neutral venue" - Brad Hogg

Hogg, a former Australian spinner, added that the team finishing at the top of the points table after a particular cycle should get home advantage in the final.

So far, the WTC finals have been played in neutral territory, in order to eliminate any particular advantage for a team. But Hogg believes that the prospect of finishing first should be rewarded by the ICC with a slight advantage in the final clash.

"I also don't think the WTC Final should be played at a neutral venue," he said. "It should be on the home soil of the team that finished first."

The topic of home advantage in the finals would be highly debatable should it ever be visited by the organization.

Should the WTC final include home advantage for one particular team in the future? Let us know what you think.

---

​