For a sporting occasion like the World Test Championship final, still in its early stages of gaining global popularity, former India head coach Ravi Shastri said England remains an ideal venue for growth, though the one-off match can move to massive venues in India and Australia later on.
For three successive finals in the last six years, the WTC final has been played across three different stadiums in England. The Rose Bowl in Southampton hosted India and New Zealand in the inaugural final. Australia then took over from the Kiwis as the WTC champions with a win over India in the WTC 2023 final at the Oval. The trophy return to London earlier this month, with the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground overseeing a spectacular match between Australia and South Africa, with the Proteas ending a 27-year ICC trophy drought under Temba Bavuma’s captaincy.
While the London venue continues to draw in the neutral cricket-loving crowds for the longest format, Shastri feels the championship final can move to colossal stadiums like the Narendra Modi Stadium in India and the Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia after gaining an adequate following in the future.
“I think to start off initially, it’s good if it’s here (Lord’s) actually. Once it gets the popularity and eyebrows it deserves, then it can start shifting. But I think the MCG can be a great place for a World Test Championship Final. Ahmedabad can be a great place for the WTC Final. Basically, the places where you can draw a crowd. Because Lord’s is not a 100,000-seater stadium. So, irrespective of which team is playing, you know you will get a good crowd,” Shastri told in a Wisden Cricket podcast.
Recent reports have suggested that England could be home for the WTC finals across the next two cycles as well, with finals slated in 2029 and 2031. According to the ICC’s Future Tours Program, the 2027 WTC Final has also been scheduled to be held at Lord’s. The BCCI’s bid to host the 2027 WTC was recently dismissed with England being favoured for the continual support shown to neutral Tests.
