Teams to play six bilateral series each in WTC 2021-23 cycle - get fixtures

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Wednesday announced the bilateral fixtures for every team in the upcoming World Test Championship (WTC) 2021-23 cycle.

Nine countries will once again battle it out for the Test mace in the second edition of WTC, with every team scheduled to play six bilateral series - three home and three away.

WTC 2021-23 starts with the five-match Test series between hosts England and the Indian cricket team in August.

Apart from the England-India Test series, the upcoming Ashes will be the only other Test series to feature five matches. On the other hand, India will host Australia for four Tests, which is the only four-match series in the WTC 2021-23 cycle.

Like the first edition of the WTC cycle, India is not scheduled to play Pakistan in any series.

The Joe Root-led England cricket team will play the most number of Test matches (22) in WTC 2021-23 while Bangladesh are scheduled to play the least number of Tests (12) in WTC 2.

Defending champions New Zealand will play 13 matches in all, which will include a series against hosts India, whom the Kiwis beat in the inaugural WTC final.

As per the WTC 2021-23 cycle, the cut-off date for the matches will be March 31, 2023. The actual date and timing for every series will be announced in due course by the ICC.

ICC World Test Championship 2021-23: Fixtures for all teams

Featured photo: Glyn KIRK / AFP