Sarfaraz Khan replaces injured Sai Sudharsan in India's squad for Tests against Sri Lanka
Colombo, Aug 9
Right-handed batter Sarfaraz Khan has been named as a replacement for injured left-handed batter B Sai Sudharsan in India's squad for the upcoming two-match Test series against Sri Lanka.
Sudharsan has been ruled out of the entire two-game series due to a right toe stress reaction. He was undergoing rehabilitation at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (COE) in Bengaluru. While the BCCI confirmed that Sudharsan is making significant progress in his recovery, he remains unfit to take the field.
"Sai Sudharsan has been ruled out of the Test series against Sri Lanka. The left-handed batter, who has been at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (COE) in Bengaluru, has made significant progress in his recovery from the right toe stress reaction and is recovering well. The BCCI Medical Team is closely monitoring his progress," the BCCI said in its official statement.
Sarfaraz, who's adept at handling pacers and spinners, will join Team India in Colombo before the squad travels to Galle for the opening Test, starting on August 15. In six Tests, Sarfaraz has scored 371 runs at an average of 37.1 and highest score of 150.
He was in India's squad for the 2024/25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy series in Australia, but did not feature in any of the five games. Sarfaraz was also part of the India A team during the England tour but wasn't included in the main Test squad for the five-series trip in June-July 2025.
The second and final Test of the series will be played at the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) in Colombo from August 23 to 27. Currently at fifth spot on the World Test Championship (WTC) points table, India needs a strong outing against sixth-ranked Sri Lanka to boost their chances of reaching the final.
Updated India 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.
— IANS
Reader Comments
Sad for Sai Sudharsan, he's a rising star. But Sarfaraz has been waiting patiently for so long. His 150 against England showed his class. Wishing him all the best in Sri Lanka. This is a golden opportunity for him.
Honestly, the selection is fine, but why is Manav Suthar ahead of other spinners? We're playing in Sri Lanka, and we need a balanced attack. Also, where is Axar Patel? Hope the team management knows what they're doing. 😅
Wishing Sai a speedy recovery! Stress reactions are tricky, so better to rest now than rush back. On the bright side, Sarfaraz is a proven performer in domestic cricket. India needs to win this series to boost WTC chances. Let's go boys! 💪🇮🇳
The squad looks decent, but I'm a bit surprised they didn't pick a third opener as backup for Jaiswal and Gill. Sarfaraz is a middle-order option. Anyway, he's in good form, so let's trust the management. Galle pitch will be spin-friendly, so Jadeja and Kuldeep will be key.
Sarfaraz has been knocking on the door for ages. His street-smart batting and ability to rotate strike will be useful in Sri Lanka. Excited to see how he performs if given a chance! All the best to the whole team for the series. 🙌
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