ICC needs to devise formula to declare winner for WTC Final, opines Sunil Gavaskar

Two days of play getting washed out entirely has meant that the inaugural World Test Championship final looks set to end as a draw. There are no tie-breakers, and, according to ICC’s rule-book, India and New Zealand will share the trophy should the game end as a draw.

Many have opined that a final ending as a draw will not be a great outlook for Test cricket, and legendary Indian batsman Sunil Gavaskar has also echoed the same sentiment. Gavaskar reckoned that the ICC should devise a formula to pick a winner, even if the contest ends in a draw.

"There must be a formula to pick a winner in case of a drawn World Test Championship final. ICC's cricket committee should think and then take a decision," Gavaskar told 'Aaj Tak'.

The legendary batsman felt that the ICC could take inspiration from Tennis and Football, two sports that have their own method to break deadlocks. 

"In football, they have a penalty shootout or they have some other method to decide a winner. In Tennis, there are five sets and there is a tie-breaker," Gavaskar said.

Rain is expected to stay away on the final two days, but Gavaskar is of the opinion that a result looks unlikely. New Zealand are currently in the nascent stages of their first innings, and the 71-year-old asserted that a result can only be possible if both teams bat ‘really badly’.

"To complete three innings in two days would be really difficult. Yes, if both teams bat really badly, the three innings could be completed."