The International Cricket Council (ICC) has made the decision to broaden the World Test Championship (WTC). Right now, only 9 out of the 12 full members are part of the league. There have been suggestions to divide the nations into two tiers. In this proposed setup, India, England, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa would be in the top tier along with one other team, while the rest would fall into the second tier. Understandably, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and the West Indies were against this idea. Interestingly, England also seemed hesitant about the plan. Recently, the ICC met in Dubai to discuss this issue. As reported by ESPNcricinfo, the two-tier concept has been abandoned, and instead, they will increase the number of teams from 9 to 12 in the current WTC format. This means that starting from the next cycle, 2027-29, Afghanistan, Zimbabwe, and Ireland are expected to join. Even though all three are full members, they haven't participated in the WTC before. There will be a minimum number of games that need to be played, but the ICC hasn't provided any details on that yet. Unfortunately, there won't be any extra funding for hosting Test matches, which can be quite costly. Even teams like South Africa and New Zealand often host teams for just a 2-match series for this reason. Also Read | Shreyas Iyer Doubtful for India vs South Africa ODI Series This situation could pose a challenge for Ireland. They've been facing financial difficulties for some time and have lost the prominence in international cricket that they once enjoyed. Hosting Test matches might be beyond their means. On the other hand, Zimbabwe and Afghanistan have been actively playing matches lately and seem ready to invest in their cricketing future. ICC Expands World Test Championship, Adds Three New Teams So, the ICC is set to expand the World Test Championship from 9 to 12 teams in 2027-29, bringing in Afghanistan, Zimbabwe, and Ireland. The two-tier idea has been scrapped. While all teams will need to play a minimum number of matches, funding remains tight, which could be a hurdle for Ireland, although Zimbabwe and Afghanistan appear eager to participate.