NEW DELHI: In a bid to also popularise Test Cricket, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has allowed players to have their names and numbers on the returns in their shirts, starting with the World Test Championship from August 1. The Ashes series between England and Australia might be the first instance while the gamers will sport these jerseys.  They will come under pressure on August 1 as part of the World Test Championship.

ICC trendy supervisor Claire Furlong advised IANS. The ICC these days has already taken significant strides within the course to highlight Test format — the advent of the World Test Championship turned into in this line. The championship will start from July 15 and go on till April 30, 2021, with the very last being played in June 2021. With a purpose to attract other fanatics to the game, the ICC has approved the concept of getting players’ names and numbers on their shirts even inside the longest layout of the gentleman’s recreation.

The World Test Championship, whose calendar was launched in June 2018, is visible as a tool to make bilateral ties extra contextual. The pass to introduce jerseys with the names of players and their numbers will handiest make it more magnificent thrilling for the lovers who appear to be extra involved to comply with the sport’s shorter formats.

Commenting on the furniture of the Test championship, ICC CEO David Richardson had said: “The agreement of this FTP (Future Tours Programme) manner we’ve got clarity, truth and most significantly context around bilateral cricket over the subsequent five years. “The World Test Championship gets underway next year, with the ODI league kicking off in 2020 as a part of the qualification towards the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023. “Bringing context to bilateral cricket isn’t a new undertaking, but with the discharge of this FTP, our contributors have found an authentic solution that offers fanatics around the sector the chance to have interaction often with worldwide cricket that has meaning and the possibility of a worldwide name at the cease.

ICC chairman Shashank Manohar had recently said that Test cricket was dying. “We are trying to see whether or not a Test championship can generate interest because Test cricket is honestly a loss of life, to be honest. “So to improve the state of affairs, we try approaches and means. The (ICC) board’s directors have come to an end that if we start a Test championship, it might maintain Test cricket alive and generate greater hobby in the game,” Manohar had stated.

But the statement drew a variety of flak, and Richardson stated that the chairman’s statement became misinterpreted. “What he [Manohar] turned into meaning to mention is Test cricket turned into calling out for additional context. Yes, there are a few iconic contests that take location now and again, however absolutely, until you are part of or keen on the participating teams, that unique series had no real interest (to enthusiasts globally). “And with the creation of the World Test Championship, that adds hobby and helps to sell the Test sport worldwide irrespective of who is gambling. He changed into saying: Test cricket wanted simply that brought a boost; it needed to be promoted. The World Test Championship with a bit of luck is the answer to that,” Richardson said at the sidelines of the one-hundred-day countdown for the 2019 World Cup.