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[Saba Sports News] After two consecutive World Test Championship (WTC) finals held in England, the upcoming final of the ongoing cycle (2023-25) is also slated to take place in the same country. Moreover, the final of the subsequent cycle (2025-27) has also been awarded to England, marking four consecutive finals hosted by the nation.
This decision follows the International Cricket Council (ICC) issuing a Request for Proposal (RFP) for a social responsibility provider for all ICC events between 2024 and 2027 on Friday (January 26). The RFP outlines the time and venue for every event, with the 2027 WTC final once again designated to England, according to reports by the Times of India.
The inaugural WTC Final in June 2021 between India and New Zealand, initially slated for Lord’s Cricket Stadium, took place at Southampton’s Rose Bowl Stadium. The second WTC Final, held in June 2023 at London’s Oval Cricket Ground, saw India face Australia.
The third WTC Final is already scheduled, set to be played at the iconic Lord’s in June 2025 between the top two teams.
The decision by the ICC to grant back-to-back hosting rights for the event to England faced heavy criticism from experts and India captain Rohit Sharma. Rohit questioned the governing body as to why only England has been chosen to host the finals and why the timing of the finals cannot be adjusted to March instead of June.
“Why after the IPL final? Why cannot it be March? June is not the only month we should play the final. 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,” Rohit had said after Australia defeated India in the 2023 WTC final by 209 runs.
“I want to see where the next WTC final is being played as well. That depends where we play, based on that we will decide what sort of players we want to get ready and what kind of cricket we want to play.”