"If India beat Australia 4-0, they will rise in the standings" - Aakash Chopra on Team India's chances of qualifying for WTC final
Former Indian cricketer Aakash Chopra is of the opinion that Team India will be in real danger of missing out on making it to the World Test Championship (WTC) final if they don't whitewash Australia 4-0.
Rohit Sharma and his men will host the Aussies for four Tests in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2023. India are currently in fourth position in the WTC points table, with South Africa, Australia, and Sri Lanka ahead of them.
Speaking in a video on his YouTube channel on Tuesday, Chopra explained how India beating Australia at home will enhance the hosts' chances. He said:
"Australia will play four Tests against India. If India beat them 4-0, they will rise in the standings. They will need to rise otherwise they will find themselves in a precarious situation. Then Australia will play a couple of Tests against West Indies at home, which they will win, and then host South Africa for three Tests."
Aakash Chopra on Team India's remaining WTC fixtures
Aakash Chopra also shed light on an astonishing statistic. The 44-year-old stated that even if Team India win all their remaining six Tests in this WTC cycle, they will still end up with a points-percentage of 68. This further highlights how crucial it is for them to beat Australia when they tour next year.
Points table of WTC 2021-23:-
•South Africa - 75%
•Australia - 70%
•Sri Lanka - 53.33%
•India - 52.08%
•Pakistan - 51.85%
•West Indies - 50%
•England - 31.37%
•New Zealand - 25.93%
On this, Chopra said:
"India simply have to win 4-0 against Australia when they host them next year. They also have two Tests to play away from home against Bangladesh. Winning six out of six will be incredibly tough. But let's assume they did that. Even then, 68 per cent is the maximum we can reach."
Will Team India whitewash the Aussies, despite the latter's improved performances in the subcontinent of late? Let us know in the comments.