Sarfaraz Khan replaces injured Sai Sudharsan for Sri Lanka Tests

The Story in Brief

The BCCI on Sunday named Sarfaraz Khan as replacement for the injured Sai Sudharsan in India's Test squad for the two-match series against Sri Lanka. Sudharsan was ruled out after failing to recover from a right big-toe stress reaction sustained during the India A tour last month. He has been rehabilitating at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. Sarfaraz, 28, last played a Test in November 2024 and was dropped after India's 0-3 home loss to New Zealand. He will join the squad in Colombo before the team travels to Galle for the first Test starting August 15.

India are also missing several key players due to injuries: Jasprit Bumrah (left knee), Harshit Rana, Nitish Kumar Reddy, Washington Sundar (ruled out of first Test with hamstring issue), and Akash Deep (stress reaction in back). Aquib Nabi has been included as Bumrah's replacement. Captain Shubman Gill sustained a finger injury during practice but is expected to play. The series is part of the ICC World Test Championship 2025-27 cycle.