Lord's to endure massive revenue loss due to India's absence from WTC final: Reports

Team India's non-qualification for the 2025 World Test Championship (WTC) final will likely result in a massive loss of around 4 Million Pounds for the Lord's Cricket Ground. Defending WTC champions Australia will take on South Africa in the summit clash at the venue, starting June 11.

For much of the cycle, India appeared to be on course to qualify for a third consecutive WTC final. However, back-to-back series losses to New Zealand at home and Australia away relegated them to third place in the final standings.

A report in the Times confirmed the loss Lord's was likely to endure, saying (Via India Today):

"Lord’s is set to generate nearly 4million less in revenue for the upcoming ICC World Test Championship final after India’s failure to qualify. The absence of India has significantly curtailed the financial windfall expected by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), underscoring the financial influence of Indian cricket across the global game."

The report continued:

"The decision to be flexible with prices for the World Test Championship final was taken this year, with tickets now being sold at between 40 and 90 about 50 cheaper than they had originally been priced, accounting for the loss in revenue."

It must be remembered that the MCC came under heavy criticism when under 10,000 fans attended the penultimate day of the Lord's Test between England and Sri Lanka last year. This forced the administrators to rework the pricing for the 2025 WTC final.

The History of the WTC Final

Australia manhandled India in the previous WTC final in 2023 [Credit: Getty]

The inception of the WTC in 2019 has led to an addition of much-needed context to bilateral Test series worldwide. While COVID-19 played spoilsport to several series in the 2019-21 cycle, India and New Zealand finished in the top two to play the final.

Despite going into the contest as heavy favorites, Team India succumbed to the Kiwis, suffering an eight-wicket defeat at Southampton. The Asian giants displayed remarkable consistency in the following cycle to qualify for a second consecutive final in the 2021-23 cycle.

However, New Zealand's Trans-Tasmanian neighbors, Australia, inflicted similar pain on India, defeating them by a massive 209 runs in the summit clash at the Oval.

The 25 WTC final will be South Africa's maiden appearance in the title clash, while Australia will be looking to become the first multi-time winners of the WTC trophy.