Former Indian head coach Rahul Dravid has reckoned that Team India has fallen behind a little bit in the race to reach the World Test Championship 2025-27 (WTC) Final at The Oval, which is scheduled to take place next year.
However, Dravid, who coached Team India between 2021 and 2024, believes that India’s strong series in Sri Lanka is a positive sign. He also reckoned that the road ahead will not be easy, especially with India touring New Zealand for a two-Test series.
India is currently in fifth place in the WTC standings with five wins, four losses and a no-result in 10 fixtures. India will next face New Zealand in a two-Test series starting November 19, 2026, at the Basin Reserve in Wellington, while the second Test will be played at Hagley Oval in Christchurch.
“I’m hoping they do. It’ll be a great run if India can qualify for the WTC final from here,” Dravid told JioStar.
“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 added.
India are scheduled to play seven Tests after the Sri Lanka series. They need to win their remaining matches to seal their berth for the WTC final. However, losing more than one or two games from here could end direct qualification.
After the New Zealand tour, Team India will lock horns with Australia for the five-Test match series of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2026-27, which will take place from January 21 to March 3 at home.
