Sai Sudharsan has been ruled out of the two-match Test series in Sri Lanka after failing to recover fully from his right toe stress fracture. He is currently recovering at the BCCI (Board of Control for Cricket in India) Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru and will not join the squad for any part of the tour.
The BCCI confirmed on Sunday, August 9, that Sarfaraz Khan has been named as his replacement. The right-handed batter will join the Indian squad in Colombo ahead of the team's departure to Galle,
where the first Test is scheduled to begin on August 15, 2026.
The two-match series forms part of the ICC World Test Championship 2025-27 cycle and represents India's first Test tour of Sri Lanka since 2017, a gap of nine years. The first Test runs from August 15 to 19 at Galle, with the second scheduled from August 23 to 27 at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo.
What does Sai Sudharsan's absence mean for India's batting?
Sudharsan's right toe stress fracture removes an option from India's top-order batting resources at a time when the squad is already managing multiple injury concerns. Jasprit Bumrah was also ruled out of the series before its beginning, with Auqib Nabi named as his replacement. India head into the tour with two enforced changes from their original selection.
The series carries additional weight given the historical context. India have won five consecutive Tests in Sri Lanka and have not lost a series there since 2008. With this being the first Test visit in almost a decade, the squad composition has attracted close attention from the outset.
How does Sarfaraz Khan's call-up strengthen India's squad depth?
Sarfaraz's inclusion restores the squad to 15 members and provides India with additional middle-order cover alongside Devdutt Padikkal, KL Rahul and captain Shubman Gill. His call-up reflects the value of maintaining a deep batting pool across a long WTC 2025-27 campaign where injuries can disrupt planning at short notice.
The back-to-back replacements of Bumrah and Sudharsan in the same squad underline how quickly circumstances can change in a touring party. Sarfaraz's availability ensures India retain flexibility in their batting combinations ahead of the Galle Test. He has played six Tests so far, scoring 371 runs at an average of 37.10.
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India full squad for Sri Lanka Test series 2026: 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.
