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A working group within the ICC will put forth a proposal to its Board of Directors suggesting expansion of the number of countries playing in the World Test Championship from 9 to 12, with the inclusion of Zimbabwe, Afghanistan and Ireland during the next cycle starting 2027. It is believed that the working group headed by the former New Zealand Test batter Roger Twose have also proposed one-off Test series as a part of the next cycle. "The working group will also recommend allowing one-off Tests to count towards the points accrued over the league's two-year cycle," ESPN Cricinfo reported. It is understandable that if one-off Tests are squeezed into the next cycle with possible expansion to 12 teams, it will also mean that the game's commercial leaders India could help out an Ireland or Zimbabwe by playing one-off Test matches. As of now, two-Test bilateral series is part of the WTC point cycle. For example, India will host Afghanistan for a one-off Test in June at Mullanpur in Pun
England, South Africa and West Indies are set to depart India over the weekend on chartered flights arranged by the ICC following disruption to commercial air travel due to the ongoing conflict involving US, Israel and Iran. A source told PTI that England, who went down to India in the second semifinal on Thursday, are expected to leave from Mumbai on Saturday evening on a direct flight to London. West Indies and South Africa are the other two teams still in the country despite their campaigns having ended. While the Windies were knocked out of the T20 World Cup after India defeated them by five wickets at the Eden Gardens on Sunday, South Africa's campaign ended after their defeat to New Zealand here in the first semifinal on Wednesday. Both South Africa and West Indies will travel together from Kolkata on a another charter flight. The two sides are likely to fly first to Johannesburg before the West Indies contingent continues onward to Antigua. The exact departure time is yet