On Sunday, August 9, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) named Sarfaraz Khan as a replacement for Sai Sudharsan, who has been ruled out of the two-Test tour of Sri Lanka. Notably, the left-handed batter has been recovering from a right toe stress reaction.
It’s important to note that Sarfaraz has played six Tests for India so far, with his most recent game coming in the 2024 home series against New Zealand. In 11 innings, he has one century and three half-centuries to his name.
“Sai Sudharsan has been ruled out of the Test series against Sri Lanka. The left-handed batter, who has been at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (COE) in Bengaluru, has made significant progress in his recovery from the right toe stress reaction and is recovering well. The BCCI Medical Team is closely monitoring his progress,” the BCCI official statement read.
“The Men’s Selection Committee has named Sarfaraz Khan as a replacement for Sai Sudharsan for the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka. He will link up with the Indian squad in Colombo before the team travels to Galle for the first Test match, starting August 15, 2026,” the statement added.
Sarfaraz had an impressive Ranji Trophy 2025-26 season, racking up 429 runs from nine innings at an average of 53.62. Interestingly, the middle-order batter was also named in the West Zone squad for the Duleep Trophy. Also, Sarfaraz hasn’t played professional cricket since playing for Chennai Super Kings (CSK) in IPL 2026.
On the other hand, Sudharsan has accumulated 383 runs from seven Tests at an average of 31.91 with three half-centuries so far. The Chennai-born batter made his Test debut against England at Leeds in June 2025.
India’s updated squad for the Test series against Sri Lanka: Shubman Gill (Captain), KL Rahul (Vice-Captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Manav Suthar, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Devdutt Padikkal, Saransh Jain, Auqib Nabi, Sarfaraz Khan
