Legendary South African cricketer AB de Villiers has given his blunt and honest take on the World Test Championship (WTC) format and said that there needs to be some tweaks to change things. The fourth edition of the WTC cycle 2025-27 has already kicked off, with Sri Lanka taking on Bangladesh. The second Test series will be played between England and India, starting on June 20. For the unversed, the third edition of WTC concluded at Lord's with South Africa breaking their 27-year jinx to be crowned as WTC 2025 Champions.
The India-England Test series is highly anticipated, one that could probably set the tone for the sides who win it for this WTC cycle. The WTC format came under immense scrutiny after the Proteas secured the final spot by playing just 12 Tests - the least among the top nine Test-playing nations. That the Temba Bavuma-led side also played those matches against weaker teams like West Indies, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka and gained maximum points was criticized heavily by a lot of experts.
De Villiers stated that with some changes, the WTC format can be fair and square for all the Test-playing nations.
“[This moment] won't be lost. But yes, to a certain extent, something needs to be done. I saw the schedule that came out for the next cycle of the WTC, and there is an improvement, but I still feel there's work that needs to be done there just to get it as consistent as possible and as fair as possible for all Test-playing nations," De Villiers told BBC Sport.
Also Read: What was the last ICC trophy that South Africa won as they break 27-year old jinx?
AB de Villiers wants a four-year WTC Cycle from next year
The former South African captain also wants the WTC cycle to be a four-year cycle rather than an existing two-year cycle. AB feels with a four-cycle all the Test playing teams can play each other.
“You want to get to that final feeling like you've played against all these nations. Maybe a four-year cycle would be nice. We've done that in the past with one-day internationals, so why not in Test cricket? It would make sense, and it would give the organizers just so much more time to get a really fair, well-balanced system out there," he added.
