Pietersen Says Important Games Shouldn’t Be Held In UK, Indian Fans Say ‘We Told You Ages Ago’

The World Test Championship was being touted as the biggest match in the history of Test cricket with two teams fighting to become the first-ever Test world champions.

The ‘Ultimate Test’ as it was marketed by the International Cricket Council was meant to test various skill-sets of a player but it has rather turned out to be the test of their patience, all thanks to the Rain Gods unleashing their fury in Southampton wiping out a couple of days of cricket completely.

Day four of the #WTC21 Final has been abandoned due to persistent rain ⛈️#INDvNZ pic.twitter.com/QvKvzQCphG

— ICC (@ICC) June 21, 2021

Not just fans but former cricketers are also furious with ICC’s bad planning, or the lack of it, which has deprived millions of cricket fans of a good quality game which they all deserved.

Kevin Pietersen, who played the majority of his cricket in England, suggested that the ICC should refrain from hosting such an important game in the United Kingdom because of the unpredictable nature of weather in the country . 

“It pains me to say it, but a ONE OFF & incredibly important cricket game should NOT be played in the UK,” Pietersen tweeted.

It pains me to say it, but a ONE OFF & incredibly important cricket game should NOT be played in the UK.

— Kevin Pietersen🦏 (@KP24) June 21, 2021

He further added that Dubai would have been a better place to host a one-off match of such a magnitude because the city has an excellent infrastructure and is also the home to the world cricket’s governing body.

If it was up to me, Dubai would always host a one off match like this WTC game.
Neutral venue, fabulous stadium, guaranteed weather, excellent training facilities and a travel hub!
Oh, and ICC home is next to the stadium.

— Kevin Pietersen🦏 (@KP24) June 21, 2021

“If it was up to me, Dubai would always host a one off match like this WTC game. Neutral venue, fabulous stadium, guaranteed weather, excellent training facilities and a travel hub!  Oh, and ICC home is next to the stadium,” read Pietersen’s tweet. 

Former India opener Virender Sehwag took a dig at both players and the ICC and said they both got their timings wrong.

Batsman ko bhi Timing nahi mili dhang ki, aur ICC ko bhi#WTCFinal

— Virender Sehwag (@virendersehwag) June 21, 2021

“Batsman ko bhi Timing nahi mili dhang ki, aur ICC ko bhi#WTCFinal,” Sehwag wrote on the micro-blogging site.

Very disappointing to see the biggest Test match in the history of game getting washed out. Hopefully we can have a result in next 2 days #WTCFinal #WorldTestChampionship #ICCWTCFinal #WTC2021

— 𝑫𝒊𝒎𝒖𝒕𝒉 𝑲𝒂𝒓𝒖𝒏𝒂𝒓𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒏𝒂 (@IamDimuth) June 21, 2021

#WTCFinal entire day washed out, ICC should have given a thought the weather was predicted a long time back for the test. Two best teams not able to compete in a championship final frustrating for players & sports fans @_Aaj_Tak @sports_tak @vikrantgupta73

— Madan Lal (@MadanLal1983) June 21, 2021

Fans who have been utterly disappointed with how things have panned out so far in the game rallied behind Peitersen’s suggestions and urged ICC to be more diligent in deciding the venue for such an important match.

#WTC was supposed to promote Test cricket & when it comes to the most imp game of them all, this is what we get. It’s not fair to the players, fans & definitely not helping to increase interest in Test cricket. What’s the point of having such a point based format. #WTCFinal

— Conroy D’souza (@Acon1290) June 21, 2021

At least someone from Cricketing fartinity is Speaking the TRUTH.#England is the worst place to host any big cricketing event like #WTCFinal2021 or any #ICC event.

2013 CT
2017 CT
2019 CWC

Were washed out due to bad weather are examples!

— Rajeev Rajput🇮🇳 (@TheRoyalRaajput) June 21, 2021

#WTC was supposed to promote Test cricket & when it comes to the most imp game of them all, this is what we get. It’s not fair to the players, fans & definitely not helping to increase interest in Test cricket. What’s the point of having such a point based format. #WTCFinal

— Conroy D’souza (@Acon1290) June 21, 2021

As for match, only 141.1 overs of play was possible in the first four days but the match still has two days left, including a reserve day but the weather forecast, albeit not as grim for the next two days, still remains a cause of concern and it’s not guaranteed if we’ll get two complete days of play.

There is a high possibility of the match ending in a draw and if indeed it does end in a draw, both India and New Zealand will be adjudged the joint winners and the prize money will be divided equally between them.