"Don't play if it cannot happen" - Aakash Chopra wants the WTC final to be a 3-match series

Aakash Chopra reckons the World Test Championship (WTC) should not have a final if it cannot be a three-match series.

The first two WTC finals have been one-match affairs, with the third cycle also scheduled to have a one-game title decider. Rohit Sharma and Pat Cummins had contrasting opinions after the recently concluded WTC final, with the Indian skipper asking for a three-match series and the Australian captain casting his vote for a solitary game.

In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra opined that the league toppers should be declared the champions if the final cannot be a three-match series:

"If you have a tournament for two years - which tournament goes on for two years, you take two years to actually have a world event, if this is the real format, then make it three matches. People say, with due respect, that it cannot happen. Why can it not happen? Don't play if it cannot happen."

The former Indian opener added:

"Hold your ear any which way, the final should be a three-match series. If you don't have 25 days, give the Test mace to whoever wins the league phase just like you used to do earlier, it was with India for a very long time."

Chopra cited the example of the English Premier League (EPL), which does not have a final and sees the table toppers bag the trophy.

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"I will give you a few ideas" - Aakash Chopra on how the WTC final can be played as a three-match series

India and Australia finished as the league toppers in the first two WTC cycles.

Aakash Chopra gave a couple of options to stage the WTC final as a three-game series:

"I will give you a few ideas. Have it as home games for the team that tops the league phase as you should get some advantage of qualifying as No. 1. Secondly, you could have one home match each for both sides and one match at a neutral venue."

The cricketer-turned-commentator pointed out that the ODI World Cup too has a prolonged process to determine the champions:

"Logistically I am not worried right now. I am thinking why do you need to play eight-nine matches as a round-robin league in the ODI tournament but you do that, and after that also you play the semi-finals and finals. So play three matches here as well."

Chopra also had a suggestion for the point system followed in the World Test Championship. He feels extra points can be given for away wins.