The number of teams in the World Test Championship is going to increase from 9 to 12. Only 9 teams are participating in the 2025-2027 cycle of WTC, but after 2027 the number of teams may increase to 12. With this, teams like Afghanistan, Zimbabwe and Ireland will get to play more test matches. On the other hand, for the last one year, there have been continuous discussions on the two-division format. According to a report by ESPN Cricinfo, no consensus could be reached on the 2-division format in the recent ICC meeting.
According to ESPN Cricinfo, the 2-division format was discussed in the recent ICC meeting, but due to the funding model and less opportunities to play with the top teams, this format could not be agreed upon.
Former New Zealand cricketer Roger Trews was leading a working committee formed by the ICC. Apart from some of the issues mentioned above, no consensus has been reached on the system of team promotion. If any one of the top-3 teams is relegated to another division, then they will not be able to play against each other. This problem was put forward by ECB CEO Richard Thompson in August.
The decision to bring 12 teams in the World Test Championship can be positive. All 12 teams will have to play a certain number of matches in the entire WTC cycle. However, no additional funds will be allocated to the country hosting a match.
While decentralization of funds could not start from the three big countries, countries like Afghanistan and Ireland will be able to play a certain number of test matches in the World Test Championship. According to the report, a board director in ICC said that this model will ensure that every country gets the opportunity to play Test cricket.
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