World Test Championship final likely from June 7, just days after IPL 2023 final

The World Test Championship (WTC) final is expected to start on June 7 at The Oval. The International Cricket Council (ICC) is yet to announce an official date but reports suggest that the final will be played from June 7 to 11, which will be extremely close to the date of the Indian Premier League 2022 (IPL) final.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) is currently looking to finalise the dates for the next edition of IPL. If ICC confirms WTC final in the said span, then the sitaution might not be desirable for India given they are in contention to qualify for the summit clash of WTC.

As per a Cricbuzz report, the BCCI is looking to schedule IPL 2023 final on May 28 or June 4. In case the Indian team qualifies for the WTC final, the BCCI and team management will have to shuffle their dates for IPL 2023. 

India in contention to qualify for WTC final

India are currently placed fourth in the WTC points table but are still in the hunt of finishing in the top two. Australia, South Africa, and Sri Lanka are ahead of India but India are scheduled to play two Test matches against Bangladesh this month and then have a four-match home Test series against Australia in February-March. Hence, India's chances to reach the WTC final are quite high in case they manage to win the remaining games.

IPL 2023 is expected to start on March 31 or April 1 in Ahmedabad and the date will be too close to international game as India will host Australia for three ODIs after the Test series, with the final ODI expected to be played on March 22, only 10 days before the potential commencement of IPL 2023 opener. The official dates and venues of the home international games are expected to be announced soon.