Cricket: Test championship could be hit for six

The contentious World Test Championship is facing the axe. Photo / Getty

Not only is Bangladesh under real threat of losing the hosting rights to the World T20 in March; the contentious World Test Championship is facing the axe.

The International Cricket Council is expected to make a decision on whether civil strife in Bangladesh following general elections this month will force a venue change after a security meeting on January 20.

And the WTC, mooted for England in mid-2017, is in danger of being put to sleep, permanently.

The plan was announced last year and ICC chief executive Dave Richardson described it as "a journey that all test-playing nations will embark on over the next four years''.

The problem is broadcasters aren't interested and there's another potential fishhook.

The top four ranked teams at December 2016 will play off, but the format hasn't been finalised and if England, sitting fourth on the table, don't make the cut - and India, which is possible - it would be a sponsorship and broadcasting disaster.

The WTC was originally earmarked for the middle of last year, but deferred because Indian broadcasters wanted to retain the 50-over Champions Trophy.

The ICC wanted just one pinnacle event in the three forms of the game, but the Champions Trophy, contested by the eight leading nations, has proved remarkably popular.

It has been held seven times since 1998, and in 2000 was won by New Zealand in Kenya, the country's only male ICC tournament crown.

India beat England in the final last year at Edgbaston. It's compressed timeframe and the fact just about every game had relevance adds to its appeal.

If the WTC is scrubbed it will be a case of those with the biggest sticks holding sway.

But it is fraught with difficulties, such as settling on a workable format - draws are no good, for example, so would that have meant a return to timeless tests? - which will be financially sustainable.

Kolkata and Ranchi in northeast India are understood to be possible alternatives to Bangladesh, if it doesn't pass the security assessment.

Sri Lanka has also put its hand up as stand-in hosts for the world T20.