'Forget about WTC Final': Ex-India cricketer makes weird claim about Indian team ahead of
Deep Dasgupta suggested India should forget about qualifying for the WTC Final. He wants the side to prioritise its transition and build for the next cycle instead. India sits fifth in the standings with a points percentage of 48.15.
Deep Dasgupta suggested India should forget about qualifying for the WTC Final. He wants the side to prioritise its transition and build for the next cycle instead.
India sits fifth in the standings with a points percentage of 48.15. Deep Dasgupta has offered a strikingly unconventional take on India's Test predicament, arguing that the side would be better served by taking the pressure off qualification.
What Happened
That result, following a similar loss to New Zealand, has left India's much-vaunted red-ball reputation looking distinctly fragile on home soil. India face an away series against Sri Lanka and New Zealand before a five-match home series against Australia next year, and.
Ahead of the crucial series in Sri Lanka, the former wicketkeeper suggested the team shift its focus away from the 2025-27 World Test Championship cycle entirely.
The Shubman Gill-led side's hopes of reaching the final hang by a thread after a demoralising home series defeat to South Africa in late 2025.
Dasgupta said, "What we should instead focus on is how to make the Indian Test team like the one in 2020-21, like that phase where India was winning overseas and winning home series as.
Key Details
It is against that daunting backdrop that Dasgupta made his case, contending that chasing a distant final could tempt India into short-term thinking at the expense of longer-term rebuilding. Dasgupta warned that the pursuit of qualification could push India towards short-term fixes.
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Either way, his willingness to challenge the obsession with qualifications is a refreshing intervention in a debate too often driven by short-term panic.
Dasgupta himself conceded the two aims might coexist if the wound is shallow enough, and therein lies the real question: whether India's problems require a mere band-aid or the deeper stitches he fears.
Why It Matters
His central verdict was blunt, even as he anticipated the backlash. Dasgupta admitted to genuine uncertainty about the team's trajectory during its rebuild.
The counterargument is that elite teams find ways to develop and win simultaneously, and abandoning the WTC race risks normalising defeat.
A side genuinely in transition rarely benefits from clinging to a target that demands near-perfection, and the temptation to pick safe, experienced options to chase points can actively stall the blooding of younger talent.
What Reports Say
Coverage of the story so far points to:
Continued reporting by Yahoo Sports as more details emerge
