India head coach Ravi Shastri on Wednesday said a best-of-three format for the World Test Championship final in the future would be ideal. "In the long run, if they want to pursue with the Test championship. A best of three final would be ideal. We got to finish it as quickly as possible due to the FTP. The guys have earned their stripes. This team has not suddenly blossomed overnight," said Shastri in a virtual press conference before the team's departure for England. "It's the first you have a WTC final. When you look at the magnitude of the game, it's going to be the biggest. It's a format that Tests you. Teams have played each other around the world and earned the rights to play in the final," Shastri further said.
The Indian team will play six Tests in England including the inaugural WTC final against the Kiwis. While the WTC final will be played from June 18-22 in Southampton, the subsequent England series will start at Nottingham (Aug 4-8), and will be followed by matches at Lord's (August 12-16), Leeds (Aug 25-29), Oval (Sep 2-6) and Manchester (Sep 10-14).The head coach, who guided India to a first-place finish over the two-year league phase of the championship, echoed opinions of several of his players, including Ajinkya Rahane, Ishant Sharma and R. Ashwin, that likened this one-off Test to a World Cup final. "See it is the first time that you have the World Test Championship final. When you look at that and the magnitude of the game that's going to be played, I think this is the biggest, if not the biggest ever," he said. "It is the toughest form of the game. It is a format that tests you, it doesn't happen over three days or three months, it's happened over two years - where teams have played each other around the world and earned their stripes to play the final. So it is one heck of an event."Shastri also backed the idea of fielding two different national sides at one time, saying it could be the way forward in world cricket. "If you want to spread the T20 game across the globe then this could be a way forward. if you want cricket in Olympics, you need more teams," he said.
