India have named middle-order batter Sarfaraz Khan as a replacement for the injured B Sai Sudharsan. Photo: AFP
India have named middle-order batter Sarfaraz Khan as a replacement for the injured B Sai Sudharsan for their two-match Test series against Sri Lanka, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) said on Sunday.
Sudharsan has been ruled out after sustaining a right toe stress reaction. He has been undergoing rehabilitation at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru and has made “significant progress in his recovery”, the board said.
Sarfaraz, 28, last played a Test in 2024, the year he made his international debut. He has featured in six Tests and scored 371 runs at an average of 37.10, including one century and three half-centuries.
He was part of India’s squad for the 2024-25 tour of Australia but did not play a match before being left out of the squad for last year’s tour of England.
Sarfaraz was Mumbai’s third-highest run-scorer in the 2025 Ranji Trophy, making 429 runs in seven matches at an average of 53.62. His first-class average of 64.73 ranks among the highest for players with at least 50 innings.
India have been hit by several injuries ahead of the Sri Lanka series, with fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah and all-rounder Washington Sundar among those ruled out.
Captain Shubman Gill also missed India’s first innings in their tour game against Sri Lanka Cricket XI, but spin-bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule said the decision was precautionary.
“Gill has been absolutely fine and he’s been training and the management decided we could just take the precaution of not putting him in the first day,” Bahutule said after the match.
Gill returned in the second innings and scored 44 from 54 balls as India completed their chase on the final day.
“The way he batted in the second innings was flawless and he’s very much ready for the Test match,” Bahutule said.
The first Test will begin in Galle on Aug. 15, with the second scheduled to start on Aug. 23 at the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) in Colombo.
The series forms part of the World Test Championship, with India currently fifth in the standings after four wins and four losses from nine matches.
India Test squad:
Shubman Gill (captain), KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Dhruv Jurel (wicketkeeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Manav Suthar, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Devdutt Padikkal, Saransh Jain, Auqib Nabi, Sarfaraz Khan.