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After India lost the World Test Championship (WTC) final for the second consecutive time, skipper Rohit Sharma suggested that it should not be a one-off match and a three-match series. Nearly 15 months after Pat Cummins-led Australia beat India and claimed their maiden WTC title, their ace spinner Nathan Lyon has echoed Rohit’s views on the final showdown of WTC.
“One thing I would like to see, I'd like to see the World Test Championship Final potentially in a three-match series. That may become a little bit better because you potentially can lose using a Test match in one session where [in a three-match series] it may allow teams to bounce back all your show their dominance and win 3-0. We're pretty time-poor anyway and that's going to be a challenge but that's one thing I would change,” Lyon said while speaking to the ICC.
Lyon went one step ahead and said that he would like to see these three Tests to be split between three different locations in as many countries. He picked the 'Big Three' to host the WTC final series.
“You potentially could go one in England, one in India, one in Australia, so you have all different conditions, but obviously, the timing of that changes everything. I don't think we're going to get on the MCG in the middle of August, just putting it out there," the off-spinner added.
Lyon happy with the two-year format
Lyon also praised the ICC for the two-year format which sets it apart from other formats' World Championships as teams need to remain consistent during the period.
“It's not tournament play. You can't just be scraping into the semi-finals and losing two games or what not. You've got to be consistent over the two years of the cycle,” the 36-year-old said.
Battle between Ashwin and Lyon
The veteran off-spinner will be seen in action in red-ball cricket when India tour Australia for the Border-Gavaskar series later this year. Lyon is currently the leading wicket-taker in Tests among current players after James Anderson hanged his boots. However, before the iconic series against India, he may lose the spot to Ravichandran Ashwin who has 516 wickets ahead of two-Test series against Bangladesh at home later this month followed by Test series against Kiwis.
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