Delhi, January 6, 2025: For the first time, India will not figure in the race for top honours in the World Test Championship. Having lost the finals to New Zealand in 2021 and Australia in 2023, they will have to reconcile to casting baleful eyes on South Africa and Australia during the Lord’s final from June 11. A shot at the title was thrown away after India won just one and lost six of their last eight Tests from mid-October. Three of those defeats came at home, against New Zealand; by the end of that series, it was clear that barring the unforeseen, India wouldn’t be welcome at Lord’s.
This WTC campaign began with characteristic hope and promise but the way it has unravelled in the last two and a half months has been spectacularly unparalleled. Even when they were wiping the floor in England and Australia in 2011-12, India at home were formidable, practically unbeatable. New Zealand have burst that aura of invincibility. They will force India to revisit their plans for home Tests and to think again whether square turners are the way to go. As it is, India’s batters have found the turning ball a hard nut to crack. Throw in the fact that they no longer can fall back on the services of 537-wicket man R Ashwin, and a grim picture of stark reality comes clearly into focus.
India’s next cycle will begin, ironically enough, in England in June, with a five-match faceoff against the hosts, and end in early 2027 when Australia visit them for another of the five-Test showdowns that is becoming the norm in Tests involving the Big Three. These are huge assignments, but New Zealand have driven home the hard truth that no side can be taken for granted, no assignment needs less than the utmost attention to detail and preparation.
Summary: The recent slump in form of Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma highlights potential challenges for India in the upcoming World Test Championship cycle, especially after Ashwin’s era.