ICC cricket committee to decide on World Test Championship revamp in April meeting

Kolkata: ICC chairman Jay Shah on Saturday confirmed that the Sourav Ganguly-led Cricket Committee will take a final call on the proposed revamp of the World Test Championship for the 2025-27 cycle next month.

The 16-member Cricket Committee is headed by former Indian captain Sourav Ganguly and includes former cricketers VVS Laxman, Daniel Vettori, Mahela Jayawardene, and Shaun Pollock, among others.

"Proposals have come in, but I am not fully aware of them. The Cricket Committee will make the decision," Shah, who is here for the IPL 2025 opener, told PTI.

The ICC is reportedly considering a significant overhaul of the WTC points system after receiving feedback on two completed cycles.

Among the proposals is to create a bonus points system to reward dominant victories and additional incentives for away wins. The ICC Board will deliberate on these modifications in its April meeting.

Under the current system, teams earn 12 points for a win (regardless of margin), 6 points for a tie, and 4 points for a draw.

However, critics argue that this format does not adequately reward commanding performances. The revised system is expected to factor in the margin of victory and the strength of opponents.

The ICC is exploring the possibility of awarding extra points for convincing wins to encourage teams to push for outright results rather than settling for narrow victories.

The long-standing debate over a two-tier Test system, strongly backed by Cricket Australia, is also expected to resurface.

While the backers argue that it would improve competitiveness, concerns remain that it could further marginalise lower-ranked teams, limiting their opportunities to grow and compete at the highest level.

South Africa and Australia are set to face off in the WTC 2025-27 final on June 11.