Rahul Dravid backs India to reach WTC final despite current standings

Rahul Dravid has backed India to qualify for the World Test Championship final despite the team's current position in the standings. The former India coach expressed optimism about the Men in Blue's prospects in the ongoing WTC cycle, pointing to the quality within the squad as a reason for confidence.

India strengthened their WTC position with a 165-run victory against Sri Lanka in the first Test at Galle. The win earned India 12 crucial points, lifting their tally to 64 from 10 Tests and improving their Points Percentage to 53.33. They are currently placed fifth in the WTC standings.

"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 off well against Sri Lanka, so that's a good first step," Dravid told JioHotstar.

New Zealand tour presents significant challenge

India have seven more Tests remaining in the WTC cycle. The team is scheduled to travel to New Zealand in November for two Test matches, followed by a five-match series against Australia at home in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy beginning in January.

Dravid acknowledged the challenges ahead for India, particularly the demanding conditions in New Zealand where the team will face a tough assignment. The former coach highlighted that many young Indian players lack experience in those conditions, making the tour a significant test of their abilities.

"(Playing against) 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," the former India coach 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.

Australia series offers exciting opportunity

India lost their previous Test series in New Zealand by a 2-0 margin, making the upcoming tour a significant challenge for the team. The absence of senior players who featured in that earlier campaign adds another layer of difficulty to the assignment.

Dravid viewed the upcoming Border-Gavaskar Trophy as an exciting opportunity for India to make a strong statement in the WTC cycle. Australia have not won a Test series in India since 2004. He believes that the Pat Cummins-led side, which has achieved a lot over the years, would be determined to register a series win 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.

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India are well placed in the second Test in Colombo against Sri Lanka. The hosts are trailing India's first-innings score by another 238 runs at Stumps on Day 3.