India, Australia and England are likely to be joined by South Africa, New Zealand and Sri Lanka in the top division, while Pakistan, the West Indies, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Ireland will be placed in the second division.
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The International Cricket Council looks all set to go ahead with the proposed two-tier system in Test cricket for the first time, after the world governing body set up a dedicated working group tasked with exploring the transition to the new model.
At its annual general meeting in Singapore over the weekend, the ICC headed by Chairman Jay Amit Shah and CEO Sanjog Gupta formed an eight-member working group. The committee has been assigned the mandate to study and report back with recommendations to the ICC board by the end of the year, according to a report in The Guardian newspaper, London.
The current World Test Championship cycle (2025-2027) will not be altered, and a possible implementation of the new system will be done after 2027.
Gupta, who joined the ICC earlier this month from JioHotstar, will head the working group, which also includes England and Wales Cricket Board Chief Executive Richard Gould, and Cricket Australia Chief Executive Todd Greenberg.
Under the proposed format, Australia, England and India would play Test series against each other twice every three years, rather than the current arrangement of two series in a four-year cycle.
India, Australia and England are likely to be joined by South Africa, New Zealand and Sri Lanka in the top division, while Pakistan, the West Indies, Zimbabwe, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Ireland will be placed in the second division.
'The presence of Gupta, Gould and Greenberg on the working group suggests there is a strong possibility the two-division model will be adopted, although the devil will be in the detail of their findings,' The Guardian report noted.
'With such a significant change requiring the support of a two-thirds majority of the ICC's 12 full members, the biggest challenge will be to agree on a system of promotion and relegation between the two divisions to prevent the smaller nations being cut adrift. An increased package of financial support for countries starting in division two may also be required.'
Although Australia and India are keen on the two division system in Tests, England don't seem completely convinced about the top three teams playing more series regularly as the ECB believes 'as it would further entrench their huge financial advantage over other international sides.'
The ICC made a major decision on Sunday as it awarded the hosting rights for the next three editions of the World Test Championship finals to England.
The three WTC finals scheduled in 2027, 2029 and 2031 after completion of two year cycles will in all likelihood be held in June, which is the time for the cricket season in England.
The ECB hosted the 2021 final in Southampton (India vs New Zealand), 2023 summit clash at the Oval in London (India vs Australia) and the 2025 title clash at Lord's (South Africa vs Australia).
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