IND vs SL: The Indian team’s troubles don’t seem to be easing ahead of the Test series against Sri Lanka. Star fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah has already been ruled out of the series. Now, the possibility of another player playing remains uncertain. We’re talking about top-order batsman Sai Sudarshan. Team India departed for Sri Lanka on August 4th for the Test series, but reports suggest that Sai Sudarshan has not accompanied the team to Sri Lanka.
Sai Sudarshan did not travel with Team India to Sri Lanka
Team India, captained by Shubman Gill, has departed for Sri Lanka for the Test series. All the team players were spotted at the Mumbai airport, but Sai Sudarshan was missing. Previous reports indicated that Sai Sudarshan would not travel with the team to Sri Lanka today. This has further deepened the suspense surrounding Sai Sudarshan’s participation, as Sudarshan was selected for the Test series on the Sri Lanka tour subject to fitness.
– Sai Sudharsan will not travel with the Indian team from Mumbai today. Although he has resumed batting, he is still short of full fitness. ❌
The rest of the squad is set to arrive in Colombo later this afternoon. 🇮🇳 (Rohit Guglan) pic.twitter.com/fNc2agmala
— Danish (@BhttDNSH100) August 4, 2026
Sai Sudarshan was selected on the basis of his fitness.
When Team India was announced for the Test series against Sri Lanka, fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah and batsman Sai Sudarshan were included in the squad, but the BCCI placed an asterisk next to both their names. This meant that both players would play only when they were fully fit, otherwise they would be out of the series. This meant that both were selected for the team subject to fitness. Jasprit Bumrah was not fully fit, so he was dropped. Aaqib Nabi of Jammu and Kashmir has been included in Team India’s squad in place of Bumrah. However, Sai Sudarshan’s inclusion in the squad, although he is still included in the squad, raises many questions.
The Indian team will play a three-day practice match from August 7.
The two-Test series between India and Sri Lanka will begin on August 15th. Before this series, Team India will play a practice match. This will be a three-day practice match, which will be played from August 7th to August 9th. Originally, this practice match was scheduled for four days, but this was changed. This practice match will provide clarity on whether Sai Sudarshan will play in the first Test on August 15th. If he is ruled out of this series, Team India has an option. Devdutt Padikkal has also been included in the squad for this series. In such a situation, if Sai Sudarshan is excluded, Padikkal’s luck may shine and he could be included in the playing 11. Padikkal has not received as many opportunities as he should have. Now it remains to be seen what Team India’s playing 11 will be.
India’s updated squad for the Test series against Sri Lanka:
Shubman Gill (captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Sai Sudarshan* (subject to fitness clearance), Dhruv Jurel (wicketkeeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Manav Suthar, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnur Brar, Devdutt Padikkal, Saransh Jain, Aaqib Nabi.