MUMBAI: Indian men's cricket team coach Ravi Shastri on Wednesday called for a best-of-three final instead of a one-off match to decide the World Test Championship (WTC) winner, ahead of the final against New Zealand beginning on June 18 in Southampton.
"Ideally, in the long run if they want to pursue with the Test championship, a best-of-three final would be ideal — a three-match final as culmination of two and a half years of cricket around the globe. Best of three would have been ideal," said Shastri in a media interaction on the eve of the team's departure for England.
Shastri, a former India captain, called the final as the biggest match India will play, if not the biggest ever.
"See, it is the first time. When you look at that and the magnitude it will be played at, I think this is the biggest if not the biggest ever. It is the toughest form of the game which tests you. It has not happened over three days or three months. It has happened over two years where teams have played each other around the world and earned their stripes," he said.
The 59-year-old former all-rounder said the current Indian team's development hasn't happened overnight. He pointed out that the team has learned how to win from difficult positions.
"The guys have earned their stripes. This is not a team that has suddenly blossomed overnight. Like Virat said, five-six years of being No. 1 and when you start being on top, playing cricket at the highest level and competing against the best, you have the ability to pull yourself out of tough situations," added Shastri.
"As you have seen time and time again. Not just Australia. In last two years, there have been many times when this side has pulled itself off from big problems and gone on to win series. [Playing the] final is a great victory for the boys really," said the former player who coached India to two successive Test series wins in Australia, in 2018-19 and 2020-21.
Meanwhile Ravi Shastri on Wednesday backed sending different teams on different tours to reduce cricketers' physical and mental fatigue as well as expand the sport.
The coach said, "At the moment, it is happening because of the current situation — restriction in travel and things of that sort. But you never know. In the future if you want to expand the game, especially in the shorter formats, then it could be the way to go." (IANS)
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