Dravid says India can still contest WTC final despite difficult path
Former India head coach Rahul Dravid told JioStar in comments published on August 25, 2026 that India may have fallen behind in the World Test Championship 2025-27 qualification race but should not be written off.
India are two-time finalists in the WTC and currently sit fifth in the WTC 2025-27 points table, meaning they face an uphill battle to finish in the top two. Several crucial Tests remain and the team will need to win the majority of their remaining matches to keep hopes of a third final appearance alive. "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 lead their two-match series against Sri Lanka 1-0 and hold the upper hand in the second Test after a strong batting performance, with a series victory offering valuable points and momentum. The result in that series will contribute directly to India's points tally in the WTC 2025-27 cycle. Despite the favourable position against Sri Lanka, the remainder of the cycle is described as considerably more demanding.
India's next major assignment in the WTC cycle is a two-Test tour of New Zealand in October, a trip Dravid singled out as particularly testing. "New Zealand away is always a challenge. They are a tough team 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.
Dravid also noted the team has lost experience with the departures of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane and Cheteshwar Pujara, leaving a younger group to shoulder upcoming away assignments. "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 and Rohit, Ajinkya Rahane and Pujara, these kinds of guys who've probably been there the last time India went," Dravid said.
After New Zealand, India will host Australia for a five-Test Border-Gavaskar Trophy series from January 2027, another fixture Dravid expects to be intense. "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," he said.
With Sri Lanka, New Zealand and Australia standing between India and a potential place in the WTC final, the team will require consistency, fitness and strong performances from its next generation across those fixtures. For now, Dravid's verdict is simple: India may have fallen behind, but they are certainly not out.
