Eight Tests remain for India in their race to enter the World Test Championship final. In those matches, the Shubman Gill-led side needs around six wins. It’s not a good position to be in, but India still have a chance. Former head coach Rahul Dravid says India have slightly “fallen behind” in the race to qualify for the World Test Championship final and, even though the performance in Sri Lanka right now is encouraging, it will not be easy for the team to get past New Zealand during an upcoming series.
Currently placed fifth in the points table, two-time finalists India are locked in an uphill battle to win the majority of their remaining matches in the World Test Championship 2025-2027 and move up.
With the top two teams slated to play in the final next year, India, who are ranked fifth behind Bangladesh, will play two away Tests in New Zealand before taking on Australia in a five-Test series at home from January 2027. India will also play five ODIs and as many T20Is against the Kiwis.
“I’m hoping they do. It’ll be a great run if India can qualify for the WTC final from here,” Dravid, a team owner in the European T20 Premier League (ETPL), told JioStar when asked if India would be able to make the summit clash from here.
“They’ve fallen behind a little bit, but the kind of quality that the Indian team has, you’re not going to write them off at any stage. They started off well against Sri Lanka, so that’s a good first step,” he said.
India lead the two-match series against Sri Lanka 1-0 and have the upper hand in the second Test following a solid batting performance.
Talking about the New Zealand tour in October, Dravid said the experience of retired seniors such as Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara would be missed in the two Tests.
“(Playing against) New Zealand away (is) always a challenge. (They are a) tough team, New Zealand, to play away from home. A lot of the young Indian boys have not played in those conditions, so that’s going to be a big challenge,” he said.
“Hopefully, they can keep the guys fit and not have a lot of injuries over the next few months. We’re missing the experience of Virat (Kohli) and Rohit (Sharma), Ajinkya Rahane and (Cheteshwar) Pujara, these kinds of guys who’ve probably been there the last time India went. So that will be an interesting series as well,” Dravid added.
The former India captain said even the visiting Australian team would have players desperate to do well in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy come January.
“Australia will be really exciting. A lot of their players will be very keen to do well in India. That’s a generation of truly great Australian players, a great Australian team that has not won in India. So they’ll be keen to do that,” Dravid said.
