Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis absent as Sri Lanka name squad for 1st Test against India

Sri Lanka have announced their squad for the Test series opener against India. Dhananjaya de Silva will lead a side depleted by injuries to several key players. Batters Pathum Nissanka and Kusal Mendis have not been picked as they continue their rehab. Batting allrounder Kamindu Mendis has been named de Silva's vice-captain.

Nissanka was a part of Sri Lanka's squad for the West Indies tour in June but couldn't feature in the subsequent Lanka Premier League. He underwent wrist surgery and hasn't recovered fully. Kusal played just two LPL games for his side, Colombo Kaps, before a hamstring injury cut short his participation.

Their unavailability has opened doors for Niroshan Dickwella and Pasindu Sooriyabandara. Dickwella's last Test appearance came against New Zealand in Christchurch in March 2023. The southpaw has aggregated 2757 runs in 54 Tests at an average of 30.97, including 22 fifties. He also has 134 catches and 27 stumpings to his credit.

On the other hand, Sooriyabandara is an uncapped 26-year-old right-hand bat. He played for Sri Lanka Cricket XI in the warm-up game against India and scored 35 and 4 in the two innings.

The hosts have picked four seam bowlers: Lahiru Kumara, Vishwa Fernando, Dilshan Madushanka and Asitha Fernando. They have four frontline spin-bowling options in the form of Prabath Jayasuriya, Sonal Dinusha, Ramesh Mendis and Keshara Nuwantha. Jayasuriya and Dinusha are slow left-arm orthodox bowlers, whereas Ramesh and Nuwantha specialise in off-breaks.

Sri Lanka squad for first Test against India:

Dhananjaya De Silva (c), Lahiru Udana, Nishan Madushka, Kamindu Mendis (vc), Dinesh Chandimal, Pasindu Sooriyabandara, Sonal Dinusha, Niroshan Dickwella, Ramesh Mendis, Prabath Jayasuriya, Keshara Nuwantha, Milan Rathnayake, Asitha Fernando, Lahiru Kumara, Vishwa Fernando, Dilshan Madushanka

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

Sri Lanka vs India Test series 2026 schedule