Former India captain Rahul Dravid has expressed confidence that the current Indian Test side can still qualify for the World Test Championship (WTC) final, citing the team's quality and a favourable remaining schedule that includes seven more Tests in this WTC cycle. Dravid shared his views in an interview with JioHotstar on 25 August, as India consolidated their position in the second Test against Sri Lanka.

India's Current WTC Standing

India's 165-run victory over Sri Lanka in the first Test at Galle gave the Shubman Gill-led side a meaningful points boost, lifting their WTC points percentage from 48.14% to 53.33%. The team currently sits fifth in the WTC standings — within striking distance but needing consistent results across the remaining fixtures.

Dravid acknowledged the deficit but stopped well short of writing off India's prospects. 'I'm hoping they do. It'll be a great run if India can qualify for the WTC final 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 well against Sri Lanka, so that's a good first step,' he said.

New Zealand Tour: A Stern Test for Young India

India are scheduled to tour New Zealand in November for a two-Test series — a leg Dravid views as one of the more demanding assignments in the cycle. India lost their last Test series in New Zealand 2-0, and the current squad will be without several experienced hands who made that trip.

'New Zealand away is always a challenge. 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. He specifically flagged the absence of Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma, Ajinkya Rahane, and Cheteshwar Pujara — veterans who featured in India's previous New Zealand tour — as a significant factor. '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. So that will be an interesting series as well,' he added.

Border-Gavaskar Trophy: Australia Hungry for a Win in India

The marquee fixture of India's WTC run is the five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy at home against Australia, scheduled to begin in January. Dravid believes the Australians will arrive highly motivated, given that this generation of Australian players has yet to win a Test series on Indian soil.

'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. For India, the five home Tests represent the single biggest points opportunity remaining in this WTC cycle.

What India Need to Do Next

With seven Tests remaining — two in New Zealand and five against Australia at home — India's path to the WTC final is demanding but navigable, according to Dravid. Player fitness and squad depth will be critical, particularly given the compressed schedule. How the young batting core adapts to New Zealand's seam-friendly conditions will be an early indicator of India's WTC ambitions.