"WTC Finals have always been held in England but England have never qualified" - Wasim Jaffer on ICC's scheduling seemingly favoring India
Former India opener Wasim Jaffer has cheekily referred to England's failure to make it to the World Test Championship (WTC) finals despite the country hosting both so far. He did this in response to the recent questions about the International Cricket Council (ICC)'s schedule seemingly favoring India at the 2024 Men's T20 World Cup.
Before the tournament began, the ICC announced that if India qualify for the semi-final, they'll play the one hosted by Guyana at 8 pm IST. Initially, it seemed like a move to cater to the Indian TV audience (the other semi-final will be played at 6:00 am IST) and allow the traveling crowd to have a fixed schedule.
However, critics have argued that knowing the venue beforehand would give India an unfair advantage. They also believe that giving a day game, with a lack of impact from dew, to a spin-heavy team puts doubts on the legitimacy of the tournament, apart from the fact that only the Guyana semi-final has a reserve day available.
"It's one thing to know where your SF will be played, it's another thing to qualify for it. For example WTC Final have always been held in England but England have never qualified 😛," Jaffer said on X, while responding to a post from Wisden India listing some questions over the scheduling.
The first WTC final was played between India and New Zealand in 2021 in Southampton, while the second was hosted by The Oval between Australia and India. The third edition is now slated to be hosted by Lord's next year.
BCCI has spoken to ICC about WTC venues: Jay Shah
Last month, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah said that his organization has already held a discussion with the ICC about the issue with the venue. He added that the international body will "consider" a change.
"We have spoken to the ICC about it. They will consider changing the venue," Shah said during a media interaction at the BCCI headquarters on May 10.
The WTC final will be played in June 2025. Currently, India and Australia are leading the championship with win percentages of 68.52 and 62.50 respectively.