The then Indian captain had batted for the expansion of the one-off clash into a full-fledged series for a fairer arrangement on the top two sides.
Ahead of the inaugural final of the World Test Championship (WTC) two years back in Southampton, the then India captain Virat Kohli had passionately voiced in favour of the one-off fixture to be transformed into a full-fledged three-match series.
Kohli’s idea came from the belief that since the two teams reaching the ultimate finale of Test cricket had put in extensive hardwork into their campaign over the past two years, it’s only fair that a proper series is organised to determine the Test championship winner from the two.
India were eventually at the receiving end of the cons of a solitary arrangement after reigning supreme in the league stage. New Zealand’s five-pronged pace battery relished the rain-marred conditions significantly more than India’s rising bowling attack at Rose Bowl and came out triumphant by a distance.
Virat Kohli’s idea never came to fruition, with the game’s custodians citing zero breathing space in the cricketing calendar to back the case for the one-off finale. But the great Indian batter has found a friend along the path in David Warner, the experienced Australian opener, who, too, batted for the expansion of the WTC final into a three-game affair.
Speaking to the press at the sidelines of Australia’s preparatory camp in Kent ahead of the WTC final versus arch-rivals India at The Oval from June 7, David Warner expressed his wish to see the one-off clash to expand into a three-game affair.
The veteran opener, who has put a timer on his elongated Test career and will be playing his first and last WTC final, believes it would’ve been a fairer arrangement for both India and Australia, the two top teams during the two-year cycle.
“I think it’s great. I have been – I won’t say critical – but I do think it should be at least a three-game series with Test cricket only,” Warner was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
“You play two years of good cricket, then you play on a neutral venue against an opposition. We’ve all played here before but [this game is] not against the same [host] nation.”
“It’s a great reward for the two best teams. Two world-class bowling attacks bowling with a Dukes ball on foreign land. It’s great and we’re excited for that,” he added.
In an excessively cramped calendar, reaching inhumane proportions on the players with an excess supply of limited-overs cricket to the fans, it is unlikely that Warner’s wish would come true, especially as the nine full-members part of the WTC believe the one-off final shall “continue to work as it”. The members and the ICC remain committed to the Test league for at least the next eight-year cycle.
