Sachin Tendulkar expressed that the two Tests between New Zealand and England were unfair to India and the series should’ve been held post WTC final.
The much anticipated final between India and New Zealand for the inaugural World Test Championship is two days away. Going into the final, NZ have an edge as they’ve played a two-match Test series against England ahead of the final.
The Black Caps made history by becoming the team to break England’s seven-year unbeaten streak at home. New Zealand won the series by 1-0 and got the chance to get accustomed to the English conditions.
India, on the other hand, landed in the UK on June 3 and have had to depend on training sessions and intra-squad matches to prepare for the ICC event.
India’s legendary cricketer and former captain, Sachin Tendulkar expressed his displeasure with the arrangements and said the series between England and NZ should have been hosted after the WTC final as the series handed an advantage to New Zealand.
Tendulkar asserted that both the finalists should’ve received equal opportunity to prepare for the event.
I don’t know when the New Zealand vs England series was decided. I would like to believe that it was decided way in advance, before New Zealand booked their spot in the Final. This England vs New Zealand series wasn’t going to contribute to the WTC Final.. so maybe the WTC Final first and then this series.
This is, without any doubt, another way to look at it. New Zealand are going to have that slight edge because they’ve played the two Tests against England while India haven’t had practice matches except for playing between themselves.
Tendulkar stated as per Times of India.
Tendulkar further added that the World Test Championship final should be a series instead of a one-off Test. The legendary cricketer believes there’s no continuity in the current format as teams have played multiple series of 2-3 games to reach the final, so it should be a WTC series to decide the champion.
Tendulkar has played 200 Test matches for India and is one of the greatest cricketers of all time. His word carries a lot of weight and his displeasure on the one-off Test in the WTC final could prompt ICC to make a better format in the next cycle.
