SL vs IND: Sai Sudharsan ruled out of Sri Lanka Tests, Sarfaraz Khan named replacement

India batter Sai Sudharsan has been ruled out of the upcoming two-match Test series against Sri Lanka, beginning on August 15, due to an injury. Sudharsan suffered a right toe stress reaction and has been at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (COE) in Bengaluru.

He has made significant progress in his recovery and is being monitored by the BCCI medical team. Sudharsan has made significant progress in his recovery and is being monitored by the BCCI medical team. The 24-year-old last played for the India A side during the tour of Sri Lanka, where he slammed back-to-back centuries.

The southpaw was the leading run scorer of the series, registering 332 runs from four innings at an average of 166, with two hundreds to his name.

In Sai Sudharsan’s place, the men’s selection committee has named Sarfaraz Khan as a replacement for the upcoming Test series.

Sarfaraz marks his return to the Indian team after losing his place following the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 in Australia. He will link up with the squad in Colombo before the team travels to Galle for the first Test match, starting August 15, 2026.

Sarfaraz's Test career so far

He last played for India during the third Test against New Zealand in November 2024 at Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai, scoring 0 and 1 in the two innings respectively.

The 28-year-old has played six Tests in his career so far and scored 371 runs at an average of 37.10, with one hundred and three fifties to his name. Sarfaraz Khan was once again seen in rich form during the Ranji Trophy 2025-26, accumulating 429 runs at an average of 53.62 with one hundred and one fifty.

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