MUMBAI: Middle-order batter Sarfaraz Khan has replaced the injured Sai Sudharsan in the India squad for the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka, starting on 15 August.
The series is part of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 cycle.
Sudharsan was ruled out of the series after unable to recover from the right toe stress reaction.
Sarfaraz last played for India in the Test series against New Zealand in 2024 before being omitted from the side for a considerable time. Despite his outstanding performances in domestic cricket, the right-hander is yet to cement his place in the Indian Test side.
Initially, Sudharsan and Jasprit Bumrah were picked in India’s squad subject to fitness.
However, Bumrah was ruled out earlier with Auqib Nabi earning a maiden call-up to replace the pace spearhead. Meanwhile, the selectors have now named Sarfaraz as a replacement for Sai Sudharsan.
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The injury has added to India’s growing list of absentees, with several key players ruled out of the series. Fast bowler Harshit Rana and all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy are already sidelined with hamstring and quadriceps injuries, respectively.
Meanwhile, Washington Sundar has been ruled out of the series opener with a hamstring issue, while pacer Akash Deep remains unavailable as he continues his recovery from stress reactions in his back.
Ravindra Jadeja has also returned to the side after recovering from a tennis elbow injury, while captain Shubman Gill has also suffered an injury scare during the practice match on Thursday.
The right-hander missed the day one of the warm-up fixture before returning to score 44 in India’s second innings.
India are currently fifth in the WTC standings, having won four and lost four of their nine matches, with a points percentage (PCT) of 48.15.
India updated squad
Shubman Gill (Captain), KL Rahul (Vice-Captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Manav Suthar, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Devdutt Padikkal, Saransh Jain, Auqib Nabi, Sarfaraz Khan
