‘Divide it into two tiers’ – Former India batter proposes radical change to World Test Championship structure

Former Indian batter Aakash Chopra has urged changes to the structure of the World Test Championship. Currently, Australia and South Africa are playing the finals of the third cycle. New Zealand won the first finals while Australia were the winners of the second cycle and both teams beat India in the finals of the tournament. The fourth cycle of WTC will begin next week when India and England play the five-match series. 

Aakash Chopra, as quoted by Sportskeeda, was heard saying on his YouTube channel, “Should Test cricket be divided into tiers? WTC was introduced since the ICC started realising that Test cricket no longer has as much thrill. So they said they would put a little context in every match. The story is that the context has come, but where will you get the contest from?”

The former India batter also added, "In my opinion, there is no contest because it's been six years since the start of WTC cycles; the last match of the third cycle is being played, but some teams have never come even close to the top three." Do they actually deserve to be in the top tier? Why is everyone in the same tier?

Can a two-tier WTC system help make it competitive?

Since the World Test Championship came into being in 2019, only India, Australia, England, New Zealand, and, to an extent, South Africa have done well. Teams like Ireland and Afghanistan, who were granted Test status in the last decade, haven’t got many matches. 

Speaking about the two-tier system, Aakash Chopra said, "Divide it into two tiers. Afghanistan and Ireland are also Test-playing nations now. Make them part of the second tier. Keep six teams in the top tier and six teams in the bottom tier, and then you can have promotion and relegation as well. One team will go up and one team will come down."

“I want the top teams playing against each other constantly. We are hosting the West Indies in the upcoming Test cycle. I can tell you now that there will be no benefit to hosting the West Indies. You will win easily, so what's the point?" Aakash Chopra further added on his YouTube channel.