Mumbai: In a blow to the BCCI’s aspirations of holding the ‘Ultimate Test,’ the International Cricket Council (ICC) on Sunday confirmed that England will host the finals of the next three editions of the World Test Championship in 2027, 2029 and 2031. The ICC made the decision at its Annual Conference in Singapore this weekend.Right since the inaugural edition of World Test Championship in 201921, England have been the sole hosts. Southampton hosted the first WTC final between India and New Zealand in 2021, while India and Australia contested the second WTC final at The Oval in London in 2023. In 2025, the ‘Home of Cricket’ Lord’s Cricket ground hosted the third WTC final, between Australia and South Africa.“The Board also confirmed the awarding of hosting rights for the ICC World Test Championship Finals for the 2027, 2029, and 2031 editions to the England and Wales Cricket Board, following a successful track record in hosting recent finals,” the ICC said in a media statement on Sunday.According to reliable sources, the BCCI was highly interested in bringing the event to its shores, but that possibility has been dealt a blow for the next six years.
Boost for Afghanistan women’s team
In another significant development, the ICC has decided that the Afghanistan’s displaced women’s cricket team, whose most members are currently residing in Australia, will be involved in some way in the next two women’s World Cups—the 2025 ODI World Cup in India and the 2026 T20 World Cup in England next June. The qualification process for the 2025 Women’s ODI World Cup is already complete. At the moment, there’s no clarity in which way Afghanistan’s women’s team will be involved. Notably, the initiative to help Afghanistan’s women cricketers find their feet again is being led by the BCCI, England & Wales Cricket Board and Cricket Australia—the three most powerful boards in world cricket, with ICC deputy chairman Imran Khwaja supervising it.
USA Cricket put on notice
The ICC has also given a three-month notice to USA Cricket to set its house in order, failing which the global governing body of the game will take action against it. “The ICC reiterated its previous position and confirmed that the organisation remains on notice. USA Cricket is required to undertake comprehensive governance reforms, including but not limited to completing free and fair elections within a three-month period,” stated the ICC.In other developments, the Timor Leste Cricket Federation and the Zambia Cricket Union have been granted Associate Member status. Three new officials from Associate nations have been elected to the ICC Chief Executives Committee Gurumurthy Palani from France, Anuraag Bhatnagar from Cricket Hong Kong and Gurdeep Klair from Cricket Canada.
