Schedule out: India to begin ICC World Test Championship campaign against West Indies

The sure-to-be prestigious and most anticipated ICC World Test Championship is set to make its debut starting from August 22 as India tour West Indies to mark the beginning of the new venture. The ICC World Test Championship (WTC) has been introduced by the ICC, the sport’s governing body, to give greater context to the longest format of the game and will be played over the next two years. It will feature nine of the 12 Test-playing nations, each of whom will play a Test series against six of the other eight teams. 

India will play two test matches against Windies from August 22 to 26 and from August 30 to September 3 at the Vivian Richards Cricket Ground in Antigua and Sabina Park in Jamaica respectively. These two matches will be the beginning of the ICC World Test Championship campaign, and it will continue being played over the next two years. The five-week Windies tour will also include three T20s and many ODIs following which the test matches will begin. 

The ICC World Test Championship is planned as being the ultimate test of the game, combining strategy, skill, and endurance

"The West Indies and India have a long and colourful rivalry, and the series will bring more thrilling competition across every format of the game. We'll be seeing some of the World's best players go head to head in T20Is, ODIs and then in the new World Test Championship. West Indies fans, young and old, will have the opportunity to see some incredible cricket," said Cricket West Indies (CWI) Chief Executive Officer, Johnny Grave in a statement.

The schedule was announced by the West Indies Cricket Board on June 12.

The first two T20I matches will be played on August 3 and 4, respectively, at the Broward County Stadium in the city of Lauderhill in Florida, USA.
The third T20I will be played on August 6 at the National Stadium in Guyana, where the series will transit to the 50-over format with the first ODI taking place on August 8, the first time in three decades the two sides will contest in an ODI in the South American nation. The ODI series will conclude at the Queen's Park Oval in Trinidad where teams will meet for second and third ODI on August 11 and 14, respectively.

"We're excited to bring two more T20Is to Florida, giving the West Indies diaspora in North America the opportunity to watch the team play 'live' and in person," said CWI Commercial, Marketing and Communications Director, Dominic Warne.

"This continues our plans of growing our audience and the game's appeal in North America to increase participation and investment back into the West Indies. The series will provide a chance for a growing audience in the United States, who follow the West Indies, to experience the fast-paced action of the T20 format," Warne added.