ICC should form a panel of neutral curators for next WTC cycle: Mohinder Amarnath

The inaugural edition of the World Test Championship concluded with New Zealand defeating India in the final and registering their name as the winners of the first World Test Championship. The two-year-long Test competition was marred with controversies. One of the major controversies that erupted in the competition was during the four-match Test series between India and England earlier this year in India.

A lot of questions were raised over the quality of the pitch at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad when the pink-ball Test match was concluded within two days. Former Indian all-rounder Mohinder Amarnath opened up on the heated episode saying that playing on the pitches like Ahmedabad isn’t a fair competition.

Amarnath backed the idea of the International Cricket Council (ICC) introducing neutral curators to ensure that all the Test matches during the next cycle of the World Test Championship are played on quality wickets and no undue advantage is given to the hosts.

“You should play on quality wickets. When you play on quality wickets, it doesn’t matter where you are playing. Then it is a fair competition. The ICC should form a panel of neutral curators like they have for neutral umpires. That team should follow the ICC guidelines and ensure the game goes into the fifth day,” Amarnath said as quoted by India Today.

A final means there can’t be any joint winners in any sport: Mohinder Amarnath 

Further, in the interaction, the veteran also opened up on the final of the World Test Championship. Before the showpiece event, ICC made a rule that if the match ends in a draw or is disturbed due to any external factors, the trophy will be shared between both the finalists. Amarnath believes that this is another aspect the ICC must tweak in the next cycle.

“A final means there can’t be any joint winners in any sport. Whether it is one game or a best of three final. They have to complete the final,” the all-rounder stated.

The former all-rounder also believes that it will be tough for the Indian side to find a competent all-rounder. One of the reasons behind India’s loss in the WTC final was the absence of a pace all-rounder in the team. When asked about the same, Amarnath added that all-rounders don’t come just like that as it is a special breed and appears just once in a decade or two.

“They don’t come just like that. They come once in a decade or once in 20 years. I am sure somebody will come but it will come from the longer version of the game,” he said.