Kohli feels Test Championship the way forward to keep format alive

North Sound (Antigua), Aug 20 (IANS) India captain Virat Kohli has said that with the inception of the World Test Championship, competition among teams will shoot up and it will bring more purpose to the longest format of the game.

"The games are going to be much more competitive and it brings a lot of purpose to the Test matches you play. It's the right move and at the absolute right time," Kohli said during the West Indies Players Association awards night on Monday.

The first edition of the World Test Championship will see the teams -- Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka and the West Indies -- fight for top honours across 71 Test matches in 27 series over the next two years.

"People have been talking about Test cricket not being relevant or dying down. For me, the competition has gone up two-fold in the last couple of years.

"It's up to the players to take the challenge and go for victories. That's going to be the essence of this Test Championship as well. There will hardly be any boring draws, there will be exciting draws, because everyone will want those extra points," he explained.

India will open their account in the World Test Championship against the West Indies on Thursday.

"I don't think us batsmen have lived up to the standard," Kohli said, urging the batsmen to step up to the plate.

"Batsmanship will always be hard at the Test level, but even harder now with the Championship where every decision you make counts in the larger scheme of things," he added.