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Former Australian spinner Brad Hogg has sided with Team India skipper Rohit Sharma over the stance that the World Test Championship (WTC) final should be a three-match affair.
Following a second successive defeat in the WTC final, Rohit lamented the schedule as well as the format of the tournament, which has seen the final being a solitary one-off match being contested in England.
Agreeing with Rohit regarding his thoughts over the WTC final as well as pitching a new format for the tournament, Hogg said on his YouTube channel:
"I agree with Rohit Sharma that the WTC Final should be a three-match series, but this time it was a one-match final and Australia won that, and I am not taking away from that. It is about the game moving forward. I think there should be two divisions with four teams each - the top four teams in division one and the rest in division two. The associates can be in division three and work their way up."
The division-based system is prominent in football leagues as well as the English County Championship over the years. Based on promotion and relegation, the format introduces an incentive for the smaller sides compared to the unprecedented long shot in the current WTC format.
"The top two teams in division one play a three-match final on the home soil of the top team in the table" - Brad Hogg
Explaining his format further, Hogg stated that the top two teams in division one will play the finals with the table topper getting a home advantage.
On the other hand, the remaining teams in division one will play against the top performers of division two, where either the division one members will retain their place or division two members will be promoted.
Explaining the finer points of the format, Hogg said:
"The top two teams in division one play a three-match final on the home soil of the top team in the table. Then the teams ranked three and four in division one play against teams that finished top two in division two."
Hogg continued:
"Team three of division one will play at home against team two of division two, and then team one of division two will play team three of division one."
Australia beat India by 209 runs in the recently concluded WTC final at The Oval.
Do you see the ICC introducing a change to the WTC format in the future? Let us know what you think.
