"England is 50-50" - Aakash Chopra on Ben Stokes and Co.'s prospects in the next WTC cycle
Aakash Chopra believes England have a middling chance of qualifying for the 2023-25 cycle's World Test Championship (WTC) final.
England will start their WTC campaign with a five-Test series against Australia, with the first game starting in Birmingham on Friday, June 16. They have been in dominant form since Ben Stokes took over the captaincy and will hope to continue in the same vein and reach their maiden WTC final.
In a video shared on his YouTube channel, Chopra was unsure about England's chances of making it through to the title decider:
"If I see England, it's not difficult at home. You are playing West Indies and Sri Lanka other than this Ashes. So you shouldn't have difficulties in those two series. But they have both India and Pakistan among their away tours."
The former Indian opener added:
"It is an important aspect that what sort of pitches Pakistan prepare. But India and New Zealand, they will definitely lose to India in India. They should lose to Pakistan in Pakistan. The matches should be 50-50 in New Zealand. So England is 50-50 in my opinion."
Chopra virtually ruled out New Zealand's chances of qualifying for the finals. He reasoned that all three of their away tours are to the subcontinent (India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka) and that they are also facing formidable teams at home (Australia, England and South Africa).
"South Africa are hosting three Asian teams" - Aakash Chopra feels Proteas should qualify for the WTC final
On the flip side, Aakash Chopra was quite optimistic about South Africa's chances of qualifying for the WTC final:
"One team I feel should qualify, South Africa are hosting three Asian teams - India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka. They should ideally win all three series because they are that sort of a team at home. Among away tours, they should win on the West Indies tour, the Bangladesh tour can be 50-50 and they can give fight to New Zealand in New Zealand."
The reputed commentator feels Pakistan's away tours of Australia and South Africa could prove to be their stumbling block:
"Pakistan are hosting England, West Indies and Bangladesh. They should win those at home but they will get stuck on their away tours. They have to go to Australia and South Africa. Even if they win in Sri Lanka, they have extremely bright chances of losing two series."
Chopra observed that Bangladesh too have a decent chance if they play out of their skins, considering they do not have an away tour of any of the SENA countries. However, he concluded by predicting a three-horse race, with Australia, India and South Africa competing for the two available spots.