The Indian Test team have eight matches remaining in this ICC WTC cycle and need to win most of them to reach the World Test Championship final. This includes the ongoing second Test against Sri Lanka in Colombo. Former head coach Rahul Dravid believes the team has slightly “fallen behind” in the qualification race.
The Shubman Gill-led side needs to win around six of its remaining eight matches to strengthen its chances of making the final. While India are still firmly in contention, they currently find themselves in an uphill battle to climb the World Test Championship 2025-27 points table.
Two-time finalists India are currently placed fifth, behind Bangladesh. With only the top two teams qualifying for next year's final, the India will need a strong finish to its campaign.
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The immediate signs, however, have been encouraging as India lead the two-Test series against Sri Lanka 1-0 and hold the upper hand in the second Test after a solid batting and bowling performance through Day 3 of the ongoing Colombo Test.
"I'm hoping they do. It'll be a great run if India can qualify for the WTC final from here," Dravid, who owns a team 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.
Tough New Zealand Challenge Awaits
India's next major Test assignment will be a two-match away series against New Zealand in October. The tour will also feature five ODIs and as many T20Is against the Kiwis.
Speaking about the upcoming Test series, Dravid said India would miss the experience of retired senior players such as Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara, particularly in challenging overseas conditions.
"(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," Dravid 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," he added.
The New Zealand series will be followed by an even bigger assignment, with India set to host Australia for a five-Test series, starting from January 2027.
The Border-Gavaskar Trophy could prove crucial to India's World Test Championship hopes, with the team needing to win the majority of its remaining matches to push for a place in the final.
The 53-year-old also noted that Australia would arrive in India with players eager to make an impact in the high-profile series.
"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 concluded.
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Nathan Lyon is 38, and Mitchell Starc is 36, and with several of Australia's other key players also getting older, this could be this Australian team's last chance to win a Test series against India in India.
With results in eight Tests left and qualification pressure mounting, India still have a chance to reach the World Test Championship final. But, as Dravid pointed out, the margin for error has narrowed, making the upcoming tours and the home series against Australia crucial to the Gill-led side's campaign.
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