Former Indian Test opener Aakash Chopra has shed light on teams’ WTC final qualification chances. Chopra reckons Sri Lanka will be in the hunt to qualify for the WTC final if they clean sweep India by 2-0 in the upcoming series.
The Island nation will jump to the fourth place in the WTC standings if they win the forthcoming two-match Test series.
Meanwhile, India is currently in fifth place in the WTC table with four wins, as many losses and one draw. Shubman Gill’s team has a PCT of 48.60 and Chopra highlighted it would improve to 57.58 if India wins both Test matches against Sri Lanka.
“If we lose 2-0, we will remain at only 39 percentage points and Sri Lanka will jump to 61 percentage points, and they will be No. 4. Sri Lanka will be in the run if they beat India 2-0. Then they have a realistic chance of going forward, or else it’s a so-near-yet-so-far story for them,” Chopra said.
“If we win this series 2-0, we will reach 57.58 percentage points. If we do a clean sweep, we will gain a little. If we draw the series 1-1, we won’t gain anything because we will be at 48.48 and Sri Lanka will be at 44.44, and the positions will remain as is,” he added.
Chopra believes India have a difficult road to qualify for the WTC final.
“Going forward, we have a two-match series in New Zealand, where it’s difficult to win. Even if you lose one match, you lose 50 percentage points. It’s going to be a tough one, and after that, there are five matches against Australia in India. India is in a tough position,” Chopra observed.
The former Delhi cricketer reckons Australia, who are currently at the top of the WTC standings, have three tough series against South Africa, New Zealand and India.
“Australia still have 14 matches remaining, which includes two against Bangladesh in Australia. They would win both those, but they play South Africa in South Africa. It’s difficult to win that series and almost impossible to win three out of three. They have four Tests against New Zealand in Australia. It will be difficult to win four out of four,” the former India opener said.
“It means they are going to drop a few points. After that, they have five matches against us. They will have to win around 10 out of 14 to stay in the fray, and that won’t be easy. Winning even one or two Tests in India is a big task. It will be difficult for them to win 10 matches,” he added.
Chopra said the defending champions, South Africa, have a good chance of qualifying for the final as their next three series are at home.
“South Africa is not in a bad position. The good thing is that they are playing at home. The bad thing is that two of the three oppositions are tough. One is a three-match series against Australia, and the other is a three-match series against England. Getting 100 percent points against them is improbable. It’s not easy for South Africa, but since they are playing at home, they have a significant advantage,” he elaborated.
The former Indian opener said New Zealand also have a good chance to qualify for the summit clash as their next two series are against Sri Lanka and India.
“New Zealand have four series left. Two are at home and two are away. Both their home series are against Asian teams – Sri Lanka and India. They will have to back themselves in both those series,” Chopra observed.
“They have four away matches against Australia – tough series. They have two away games against Pakistan. Pakistan might make rank turners where you can’t play at all, but they (New Zealand) don’t lose on rank turners. They are not in a bad position,” he added.
Chopra virtually ruled out West Indies, Pakistan and England’s chances of qualifying for the final.
