WORLD TEST CHAMPIONSHIP
The ICC had announced that the ‘percentage of points’ will determine the final ranking, as several tours were affected due to the Covid-19 pandemic. © BCCI
India’s head coach Ravi Shastri criticized the ICC’s decision to modify the World Test Championship rules last year that complicated India’s path to the final. India led the table until November of last year having accumulated 360 points in the period. However, Australia usurped India in first place despite having just 296 points following a rule change.
The ICC had announced that the ‘percentage of points’ will determine the final ranking, as several tours were affected due to the Covid-19 pandemic. “I’m not even worried about the second cycle, I’m thinking about the first cycle,” Shastri told a news conference when asked about the changes he would like to make in the next cycle. “Please don’t move the goal posts. I’m sitting at home at Covid in the month of October … you have more points than any other team in the world. 360 at that time. Suddenly a week later without playing. cricket, there’s a rule that says we’re going to go to the percentage system, where we go from number 1 to number 3 in a week.
“Well that’s because the countries that don’t want to travel, that are in the red zone. All acceptable. But I want to understand the logic behind this because what is the way forward for me? I have two tours left at the top of the table”. , comfortably leading by 60-70 points compared to any other team. They say that now you have to go to Australia … What do you have to do in Australia? You have to beat Australia. Now how many teams in the last 10 years have passed for Australia and are they guaranteed to beat Australia?
India, which appeared to be on track to reach the WTC final scheduled in England in June 2021 until the rule change, found itself in a difficult situation having to beat Australia on the road trip to stay in contention. Although they managed to win the series under 2-1 in dramatic fashion, their place was still not assured with New Zealand sealing their place in the final. India then had to beat England in the series at home to reach the top clash, which they did despite losing the series opener.
“In the percentage system, you have to go to Australia and beat Australia,” Shastri said. “If you don’t beat Australia, you go back home and beat England 4-0, you get to 500 points, you still haven’t qualified. So we had to dig deeper. We had to go down every hole to find water. We found it and we we won our stripes to be in the final of the WTC – the biggest trophy in the world – with 520 points.
“I can’t say how proud I am that my Indian cricket team has been through this difficult period and qualified for the WTC final against all odds. When you go from number 1 to number 3 sitting in your room without playing football cricket, ranking No. 1 in all departments – top of the table, ICC rankings, percentage rankings … tomorrow there could be other jobs to come, I think we’ll be No. 1 in that as well. ”
© Cricbuzz
