“England are not qualifying”- Aakash Chopra on Ben Stokes and co.’s WTC 2027 final chances

Aakash Chopra, a former player for India, believes that England will not make it to the World Test Championship (WTC) final in 2027. He reasoned that Ben Stokes and company have three difficult away series in the current WTC cycle and will probably be bothered by New Zealand at home.

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In the just-finished test series against India, England scored 43.33 percent of the points. Due to a slow over rate, the hosts lost two points in the five-match series, which ended in a 2-2 draw.

This has led Aakash Chopra to virtually rule out England’s chances of qualifying for the final of the WTC 2027 cycle.

"England is hosting New Zealand, India, and Pakistan. The series against India has ended in a 2-2 draw. They might beat Pakistan. New Zealand will trouble them. New Zealand is not a pushover. Their away tours are against Australia, South Africa, and Bangladesh.

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England are not qualifying. I feel England won't qualify this time either because they will not win the home series 100 percent, and going away, they will find it difficult in Bangladesh as well. You know what will happen in South Africa and Australia," Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

England has yet to earn a spot in the WTC final. In the 2023–25 cycle, they had 43.18 percentage points, which placed them fifth.

Aakash Chopra says New Zealand has a favorable draw in the WTC 2027 cycle

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New Zealand can win all three of their home series in the 2025–27 WTC cycle, according to Aakash Chopra, who made this observation in the same video. The Kiwis have a better draw in this World Test Championship cycle, Chopra opined.

"New Zealand's home series are against India, the West Indies, and Sri Lanka. It's actually a favorable draw. You can win all these three series at home. You can beat India, the West Indies, and Sri Lanka. Their away series are slightly difficult—Australia, England, and Pakistan.

I don't see them winning in Australia, at least at this point in time. If they win one of the series against Pakistan and England and draw the other and win all the series at home, New Zealand may have a chance. New Zealand can be one of the contenders," Chopra observed.

The first WTC champions were New Zealand. In the 2023–25 cycle, they had 48.21 percentage points, placing them fourth.

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