No Pakistan-India matches in ICC Test Championship

The fans will miss Pakistan and India matches in the inaugural World Test Championship, which will be played over a two-year cycle (2019-20) with the final being held in 2021.

The much-awaited Test Championship, which was first mooted in 2010 and deferred twice, will, however, not see Indo-Pak clashes — unless the two teams qualify for final.

It is quite disappointing for the fans, but it is a reality that the ICC has decided to live with. Under the new format that is still being worked out, the top nine Test-playing nations will play a maximum of six series, comprising three Tests each on home-and-away basis against six other nations over a two-year period. It amounts to 36 Tests in a course of 24 months.

Only Zimbabwe, Afghanistan and Ireland — who will not be part of the Test Championship — will engage in bilateral exchanges during this period. Apart from Pakistan, India will not play another nation at all in course of the championship.

Each of the nine countries will have the same privilege. Which team plays whom and when will be largely dictated by the new Future Tours Programme (FTP) that has been accepted by all ICC member nations.

If India and Pakistan both make it to the final, the two teams will lock horns for the title at a neutral venue, which is yet to be decided.