India arrived in Sri Lanka on Tuesday ahead of a two-Test series that forms part of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 cycle, with the visitors set to begin their preparations with a four-day practice match in Colombo from August 7.
The opening Test will be played at the Galle International Cricket Stadium from Aug. 15-19, while the second will be held at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo from Aug. 23-27.
India will be without fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, who has not recovered fully from the left knee injury he suffered during the one-day international series against England. The men’s selection committee has named pace bowler Auqib Nabi as his replacement.
Shubman Gill’s side has also been hit by a series of injuries ahead of the tour. Harshit Rana has been ruled out with a hamstring injury, while all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy is unavailable because of a quadriceps injury.
All-rounder Washington Sundar will miss the opening Test with a hamstring injury, and fast bowler Akash Deep remains sidelined as he recovers from stress reactions in his back.
India are fifth in the WTC standings with four wins and four losses from nine matches, giving them a points percentage of 48.15.
India squad: Shubman Gill (captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Sai Sudharsan, Dhruv Jurel (wicketkeeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Manav Suthar, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Devdutt Padikkal, Saransh Jain and Auqib Nabi.
(ANI)
