Now Reading: Sarfaraz Khan to replace injured Sai Sudharsan for Sri Lanka Tests
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Sarfaraz Khan to replace injured Sai Sudharsan for Sri Lanka Tests
Sarfaraz Khan is likely to replace injured opener Sai Sudharsan in India's Test squad for the two-match series against Sri Lanka starting August 15, BCCI sources told ANI. Sudharsan hurt his big…
The Story in Brief
Sarfaraz Khan is likely to replace injured opener Sai Sudharsan in India's Test squad for the two-match series against Sri Lanka starting August 15, BCCI sources told ANI. Sudharsan hurt his big toe during the India A tour and has not fully recovered despite rehabilitation at Bengaluru's Centre of Excellence. He missed the warm-up match in Colombo. Sarfaraz, a prolific first-class batsman for Mumbai, is the frontrunner, though Shaik Rasheed is also in consideration.
But it is not just Sudharsan. Skipper Shubman Gill injured his right ring finger in practice and will miss the warm-up; KL Rahul will lead in his place. Jasprit Bumrah is out with a knee injury, replaced by Aquib Nabi. Harshit Rana (hamstring), Nitish Reddy (quadriceps), Washington Sundar (hamstring) and Akash Deep (back stress reaction) are also unavailable. India sit fifth in the World Test Championship with a 48.15 points percentage.
The Indian Opinion
Headlines scream 'crisis' as half the squad limps off. But India's bench has long been its boast. Sarfaraz Khan is no stopgap, he averages 69 in first-class cricket. The real test is not depth but whether this rotating door of injuries becomes a pattern. Watch how the new-look bowling attack, without Bumrah, Harshit, Akash Deep, copes on Galle's turning track. That will tell us if we are seeing bad luck or a deeper flaw in workload management.
Sources (5): sports.ndtv.com, sports.ndtv.com (2), indiatvnews.com, deccanchronicle.com, rediff.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 5 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 5 sources.
