Can India reach ICC World Test Championship final in 2027 after whitewash against South Africa?

It was a 0-3 whitewash at the hands of New Zealand at home last year that had derailed India’s World Test Championship campaign. A third consecutive appearance in the ICC WTC final was something that had been taken for granted at the time until Tom Latham’s Black Caps pulled off the unthinkable – ending India’s unbeaten run in Test series’ on home soil that lasted nearly 12 years.

India were officially knocked out of the race after a 1-3 series loss in Australia after the defeat against the Kiwis, with the Aussies finishing second on the table behind South Africa. But it was the clean sweep at the hands of New Zealand, rather than the series loss Down Under, that played a key role in preventing India from reaching a third consecutive final.

Another whitewash for India in the span of a year

A little over a year later, India find themselves in a similar situation after suffering another Test series whitewash on home soil, this time against Temba Bavuma’s South Africa – the team that had defeated Australia in the WTC Final at Lord’s in June.

Unlike New Zealand, South Africa had won a Test series on these shores in the past – Hansie Cronje’s men sweeping the two-match Test series in 1999-00. The Proteas, however, had not won a Test in India for 15 years, having suffered 0-3 series losses in their last two visits to the country, and were being viewed as the underdogs in India despite being the world Test champions.

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Bavuma and Co, however, proved that the WTC triumph was indeed no fluke, and that they fully deserve the title after winning the battle of nerves in a low-scoring thriller on a spicy Eden Gardens wicket in Kolkata before completely outplaying the hosts in Guwahati.

How defeat against South Africa affects India’s WTC campaign

Just like the 0-3 loss against Black Caps, the defeat against the Proteas also spells trouble for Team India as far as their World Test Championship campaign is concerned. India, after all, have slipped to the fifth spot on the WTC 2025-27 table after winning four and losing as many games in the ongoing cycle, collecting their only draw in the fourth Test against England in Manchester.

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They currently have a Points Percentage of 48.15, which is less than that of the fourth-placed Pakistan – who had been held to a 1-1 draw by South Africa in their only Test assignment so far in the current cycle.

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And certainly is bad news for the Indian team in their quest to qualify for the next WTC final in the summer of 2027. They will not be playing another Test in the remainder of the season, which concludes with the T20 World Cup in March. India’s next Test assignment will be in Sri Lanka in August next year, after the white-ball tour of England.

Australia currently are top of the table with a 100 percent track record, having won all the four Tests that they’ve played so far, and are expected to stay there until the end of the ongoing Ashes. South Africa are second with a PCT of 75 after their tours of Pakistan and India, while Sri Lanka are third with 66.67, winning and drawing one Test each so far.

What lies ahead for Gill and Gambhir

India will be playing two Tests each against Sri Lanka and New Zealand away from home before hosting Australia in a five-match series in their bid to regain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. And the manner in which they capitulated against New Zealand and South Africa over the past one year, there’s no guarantee they will come out on the winning side against the Aussies in 2026-27.

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That combined with their lack of success in New Zealand makes it paramount for India to defeat Sri Lanka 2-0 when they visit. Even then, it’s the BGT showdown against Australia in early 2027 that will ultimate decide their fate.

India might be facing its worst crisis in the Test format in years, but beating Australia a little over a year from now might just heal the wounds to some extent and restore faith in the side.