We are confident that the World Test Championship Final will go ahead as planned: ICC spokesperson

The hugely anticipated final of the World Test Championship (WTC) is scheduled to take place from 18th to 22nd June in Southampton this year. And, the two teams that will battle it out are India and New Zealand.

And now, news has come in that the United Kingdom has banned the arrival of people from India after an unprecedented surge of Covid-19 cases in India. But then, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has stated that the WTC final will be held as planned.

An ICC spokesperson further revealed that the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has already demonstrated how to conduct international cricket matches safely, and the WTC final will be staged without any hiccups.

“We are currently discussing with the UK Government the impact of countries being on the ‘red list’. The ECB and other Members have demonstrated how we can stage international cricket safely in the middle of a pandemic, and we are confident that we can continue to do that and that the World Test Championship Final will go ahead as planned in June in the UK,” said the spokesperson.

India and New Zealand will fight it out in the final of the WTC

The two teams that will face off against each other in the summit clash are India and New Zealand. Both the sides have been in stunning form in Test match cricket. While the Indian side has won 5 out of the last 7 Test matches that they have played, the Kiwis have won each of the last 6 Test matches that they have played.

The last time India and New Zealand faced off against each other was in February 2020 at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch. In that encounter, the New Zealand side walloped Virat Kohli and his men by 7 wickets, and the match ended within 3 days.

In fact, the rivalry between India and New Zealand has seen some riveting cricket on the field. In the last 7 Test matches that have been played between the 2 sides, both sides have won three games each, with one Test match ending in a draw.