The journey to the World Test Championship (WTC) 2027 final has officially begun. After South Africa lifted their first-ever WTC title in the 2023–25 cycle, attention now turns to the next two years of red-ball cricket as teams fight for a place in the next final.
The fourth edition of the WTC will run from June 2025 to mid-2027. Nine Test-playing nations are part of the race, including India, England, Australia and Pakistan.
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Each country will play six Test series throughout the competition cycle, three at home and three away. The battle promises to be even more intense as nations look to book early wins.
What is the format of the World Test Championship 2025-27?
The format for the 2025–27 WTC cycle follows the same model as the previous editions. A total of 27 Test series will be played across two years, with 71 matches in total. Each team will participate in six of these series and every match counts toward the championship points.
Just like in the earlier cycles, two teams will make it to the final based on the percentage of points they collect across all their games. This ensures that not just the number of matches won, but consistency across the series also matters.
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World Test Championship 2023-25 points distribution
| Points per match | Percentage of points | |
|---|---|---|
| Win | 12 | 100 |
| Tie | 6 | 50 |
| Draw | 4 | 33.33 |
| Loss | 0 | 0 |
*Teams will be ranked according to percentage of points won
*Teams will be docked one championship point for slow overrates.
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Latest updated World Test Championship points table
| Rank | Team | Matches | Wins | Losses | Draws | N/R | Points (PT) | Percentage (PCT) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 100.00 |
| 2 | Sri Lanka | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 16 | 66.67 |
| 3 | India | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 28 | 46.67 |
| 4 | England | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 26 | 43.33 |
| 5 | Bangladesh | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 16.67 |
| 6 | West Indies | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| 7 | New Zealand | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 8 | Pakistan | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| 9 | South Africa | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
World Test Championship's previous winners
| Cycle | Champion | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|
| 2019-21 | New Zealand | India |
| 2021-23 | Australia | India |
| 2023–25 | South Africa | Australia |