Ahead of the first Test between India and Sri Lanka, Aakash Chopra picked his playing XI and named Sai Sudharsan’s replacement at number three. Sudharsan, India’s number three batter, was recently ruled out of the series due to a toe injury. He was replaced by Sarfaraz Khan. Chopra picked Devdutt Padikkal as Sudharsan’s replacement and backed him to bat at number three. The left-handed batter has played two Test matches since his debut in 2024. He scored a century in the warm-up game against Sri Lanka XI.
Chopra didn’t hand a debut to either Saransh Jain or Auqib Nabi. Saransh, a spin-bowling all-rounder, earned his maiden India call-up for the SL series on the back of his performances for India A.
Nabi was in contention to make it to the Test team but missed out. The right-arm pacer was later called up to replace Jasprit Bumrah, who has been ruled out due to a knee injury.
Chopra picked Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna as the two pacers. Siraj will lead the pace attack in Bumrah’s absence.
Aakash Chopra’s playing XI for the first Test vs Sri Lanka: KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal, Shubman Gill, Rishabh Pant, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Manav Suthar, Kuldeep Yadav, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj
India vs Sri Lanka schedule
The India-Sri Lanka Test series will start on August 15, with the first Test to be played in Galle. The second and last Test of the series will be played from August 23 to 27 in Colombo.
Squads:
India: Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill(c), Devdutt Padikkal, Sarfaraz Khan, Rishabh Pant(w), Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Manav Suthar, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Auqib Nabi, Dhruv Jurel, Gurnoor Brar, Saransh Jain
Sri Lanka: Nishan Madushka, Lahiru Udara, Dinesh Chandimal, Kamindu Mendis, Dhananjaya de Silva(c), Pasindu Sooriyabandara, Niroshan Dickwella(w), Ramesh Mendis, Prabath Jayasuriya, Asitha Fernando, Dilshan Madushanka, Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Kumara, Sonal Dinusha, Milan Priyanath Rathnayake, Keshara Nuwantha
Disclaimer: This article summarizes a report by Aakash Chopra. While Times Now has verified the public data presented, the interpretations of ‘intent’ remain those of the creator.