ICC confirms changed points system, schedule for WTC 2

Dubai: India will play Sri Lanka, New Zealand and Australia at home and face Bangladesh, England and South Africa away in the World Test Championship 2 (WTC 2) cycle that will run from 2021 to 2023, the International Cricket Council (ICC) confirmed in its release.

The ICC also confirmed the changed points system for the second edition of the WTC.

Each match of the upcoming WTC will now be contested for the same number of points -- 12 for a win, four for a draw and six for a tie, a change from the previous system where the same number of points were allocated to each series, divided across the number of matches played.

"We received feedback that the previous points system needed to be simplified. The Cricket Committee took this into consideration when proposing a new, standardised points system for each match," said ICC Acting Chief Executive Geoff Allardice in a statement from ICC. "It maintained the principle of ensuring that all matches in a WTC series count towards a team's standing, while accommodating series varying in length between two Tests and five Tests," Allardice added. As in the first edition of the championship, the nine teams will play six series each, three home and three away with the cut-off date being March 31, 2023.