The much-awaited ICC World Test Championship is announced officially by the International Cricket Council and the championship is scheduled to get underway with Ashes 2019. Following the 50-over world cup, World T-20, the longest format of the game also got a championship rank from the ICC. The tournament is expected to increase the craze and excitement of Test cricket among the fans. As per the ICC World Test Championship schedule, nine top ranked Test-playing nations will face six different opponents in span of two years. ICC World Test Championship Officially Announced, Here’s All You Need to Know About WTC

New Test entrants Ireland and Afghanistan won't be part of the ICC World Test Championship. The championship will also miss out on India vs Pakistan rivalry. The series should consist of at least two matches. Since all teams will not be able to play an equal number of matches, they will feature in six series (three home and three away). A side can accumulate a maximum of 120 points from a single bilateral series. At the end of the league stage, the top teams in the rankings will advance to the finals at Lords in June 2021. Cricket Australia Welcomes ICC World Test Championship Beginning With Ashes Series 2019.

Let’s have a look at the complete schedule of the inaugural edition of ICC World Test Championship

India

S.NO Opposition No. of Matches Date
1 West Indies 2 July to August 2019
2 South Africa 3 October to November 2019
3 Bangladesh 2 November 2019
4 New Zealand 2 February 2020
5 Australia 4 December 2020
6 England 5 January to February 2021

South Africa

S.NO Opposition No. of Matches Date
1 India 3 October to November 2019
2 England 4 December 2019 to January 2020
3 West Indies 2 July to August 2020
4 Sri Lanka 2 January 2021
5 Pakistan 2 January to February 2021
6 Australia 3 February to March 2021

Australia

S.NO Opposition No. of Matches Date
1 England 5 July to September 2019
2 Pakistan 2 November 2019
3 New Zealand 3 December 2019 to January 2020
4 Bangladesh 2 February 2020
5 India 4 November to December 2020
6 South Africa 3 February to March 2021

Sri Lanka

S.NO Opposition No. of Matches Date
1 New Zealand 2 July to August 2019
2 Pakistan 2 October 2019
3 England 2 March to April 2020
4 Bangladesh 3 July to August 2020
5 South Africa 2 January 2021
6 West Indies 2 February to March 2021

New Zealand

S.NO Opposition No. of Matches Date
1 Sri Lanka 2 July to August 2019
2 Australia 3 December 2019 to January 2020
3 India 2 February 2020
4 Bangladesh 2 August to September 2020
5 West Indies 3 November to December 2020
6 Pakistan 2 December 2020

England

S.NO Opposition No. of Matches Date
1 Australia 5 July to August 2019
2 South Africa 4 December 2019 to January 2020
3 Sri Lanka 2 March 2020
4 West Indies 3 June to July 2020
5 Pakistan 3 July to August 2020
6 India 5 January to February 2021

Pakistan

S.NO Opposition No. of Matches Date
1 Sri Lanka 2 October 2019
2 Australia 2 November to December 2019
3 Bangladesh 2 January to February 2020
4 England 3 July to August 2020
5 New Zealand 2 December 2020
6 South Africa 2 January to February 2021

West Indies

S.NO Opposition No. of Matches Date
1 India 2 July to August 2019
2 England 3 June to July 2020
3 South Africa 2 July to August 2020
4 New Zealand 3 November to December 2020
5 Bangladesh 3 January to February 2021
6 Sri Lanka 2 February to March 2021

Bangladesh

S.NO Opposition No. of Matches Date
1 India 3 November 2019
2 Pakistan 2 January to February 2020
3 Australia 2 February 2020
4 Sri Lanka 3 Julyto August 2020
5 New Zealand 2 August to September 2020
6 West Indies 3 January to February 2021

So, this was the complete schedule of the teams competing in the inagural edition of the ICC World Test Championship. Many Pundits and Cricket Experts are expecting that the championship will add a new context to Test cricket. The event will also witness the players playing with numbered jersey for the first time in whites . Test Cricket is considered as the toughest format of the game and time will tell who will conquer the clash of the titans.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 30, 2019 01:19 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).