India remains at the fifth spot in the WTC 2027 rankings with 66.67 percentage points.
Former India cricketer Aakash Chopra analyzed the impact of the drawn Test between India and Sri Lanka in Colombo on August 27, 2026, and stated that this result is as good as a loss for India in terms of qualification for the WTC 2027 final.
India had made 503/9d with Devdutt Padikkal and Dhruv Jurel scoring centuries. Sri Lanka managed 290 in the first innings thanks to 103 from Sonal Dinusha, but India captain Shubman Gill decided to enforce the follow-on. Pasindu Sooriyabandara followed his first innings' 84 with 92 in the second innings, while Dinusha scored his second ton in the match (133*), showing great restraint and game awareness to ensure Sri Lanka finished at 429/9d.
Chopra emphasized that even if India won the Test series 1-0, Shubman Gill and company's hopes of making it to the World Test Championship (WTC) final are severely damaged. He pointed out that India's attempt to go to the WTC final is essentially lost as a result of the drawn match.
"Let's first talk about the impact of us not being able to win this game on WTC. We have not lost. We have won the series. We have maintained our impeccable record against Sri Lanka, but this drawn game is as good as a win for Sri Lanka. For us, this drawn game is not really a loss, but it's almost equal to a loss," Chopra said on his YouTube channel.
Chopra highlighted that India would have liked to win both games when they started the tour, even if he acknowledged that the visitors received 66.67 percentage points from the series. The outcome, he said, leaves very little room for error in the final seven games.
"Then, in the remaining seven matches, two are against New Zealand in New Zealand, and five are against Australia in India; it would have worked out if an odd match had not gone in our favor. However, after this match was drawn, your comfort window was shrinking. The opening from which we can enter the final is shrinking. So, this is going to be a tough one," Chopra explained.
India is presently ranked fifth on the WTC points table with 51.52 percentage points. In the rankings, they are behind Australia (80.00), South Africa (75.00), New Zealand (72.22), and Bangladesh (55.56).
According to Aakash Chopra, India was essentially compelled to enforce the follow-on in the second Test match against Sri Lanka due to the rain forecast. In addition, he questioned whether Test matches ought to last for a certain number of overs rather than five days.
"We lost so many overs in this match because of rain, and India had to enforce the follow-on because of that. We bowled nearly 90 overs in the first innings. After 90 overs, you generally say, 'Let's not enforce the follow-on.' Basically, the weather forced our hand.
If 450 overs are not bowled, then you are doing a disservice. Instead of five days, can we say Test cricket will be a 450-over or a 440-over game? Why are we losing so many overs and not doing anything about it? I have put my hand up for this very, very radical suggestion," Chopra said.
According to Aakash Chopra, if the required number of overs is not bowled, Test matches have to be extended to a sixth day. He continued by saying that if the Colombo Test had been played for about 450 overs, Sri Lanka might have also prevailed.