No Nitish, Harshit as injury-marred India name Test squad for Sri Lanka series
An injury-marred India have named their squad for the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka, with several regulars unavailable and the fitness of key players still under a cloud.
Shubman Gill will lead the side, with KL Rahul named his deputy, while the squad includes a mix of established names and players looking to make their mark in Test cricket.
India will, however, be without a couple of their recent regulars due to injuries. Nitish Reddy was not available for selection after being ruled out of the tour of the UK with a thigh injury, while Harshit Rana was ruled out just days after returning from a four-month injury layoff.
There is also uncertainty surrounding the availability of Sai Sudharsan and Jasprit Bumrah. Both players have been picked in the squad, but their participation will be subject to fitness clearance from the BCCI Centre of Excellence (COE).
Washington Sundar, meanwhile, was not available for selection for the first Test.
WHAT HAPPENED TO JASPRIT BUMRAH?
Jasprit Bumrah recently returned to action in the ODI series against England. The fast bowler was given an extended rest after the Indian Premier League and did not feature in the home series against Afghanistan or, for that matter, T20Is against Ireland and England.
Sources told India Today that Bumrah is on rest till July 30, and will report to the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence after that. His date of his return will be assessed after fresh medical evaluations.
GURNOOR BRAR NAMED IN TEST SQUAD
The squad sees Rishabh Pant and Dhruv Jurel maintain their spots as the preferred choice for wicketkeepers.
The pace attack, which is India’s main concern for the series, includes regulars Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna. Gurnoor Brar, who has done well since his debut for India, has once again been named in the Test squad.
INDIA’S TEST SQUAD vs SRI LANKA
Shubman Gill (c), KL Rahul (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sai Sudharsan*, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Manav Suthar, Jasprit Bumrah*, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Devdutt Padikkal, Saransh Jain.
*Subject to fitness clearance from the BCCI Centre of Excellence.
With injuries already ruling out Reddy and Rana and fitness concerns surrounding Sudharsan and Bumrah, India head into the Sri Lanka series with several questions still to be answered before the first Test.
INDIA vs SRI LANKA: MATCH DATES
The Test series between India and Sri Lanka starts on August 15 and will conclude on August 27. The first match will be played in Galle, while the second Test is scheduled to be played in Colombo. Ahead of the series, India will also play a 4-day practice match in Colombo, starting August 7.
– Ends
