Gill Leads, Jadeja Returns: India Name Their Squad for the Sri Lanka Tests
Published on August 12, 2026
Summary Overview: India have named a 15-member squad for the two-Test tour of Sri Lanka, with Shubman Gill captaining, Ravindra Jadeja back and Jasprit Bumrah ruled out. Full squad, schedule and start times.
Gill Leads, Jadeja Returns: India Name Their Squad for the Sri Lanka Tests
By Cricket Daily
India have named their squad for the two-match Test tour of Sri Lanka, a series that carries real weight in the race for the World Test Championship. Before the detail, here are the quick answers.
Have India announced their squad?
Yes. The selectors have named a 15-member squad for the two-Test series, though it has been reshaped by a few injuries since the original announcement.
Who is captaining India?
Shubman Gill continues as Test captain, with KL Rahul as his vice-captain.
What is the big news?
Veteran all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja returns from injury, there is a maiden call-up for spin-bowling all-rounder Saransh Jain, and star pacer Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out.
When does the series start?
The first Test begins in Galle on 15 August, India's Independence Day, with the second in Colombo from 23 August.
Now, the full picture.
What is at stake
This is a short but important series. Both Tests count towards the World Test Championship 2025-27, the two-year competition that decides who reaches the World Test Championship final, so every session matters in the bigger points race.
There is added motivation for India. Their previous Test assignment ended in a chastening home series defeat to South Africa, so bouncing back on the turning pitches
of Sri Lanka is a chance to get their campaign back on track. For newcomers, Test cricket is the five-day format, the oldest and most demanding version of the game, and subcontinental tours like this are traditionally decided by spin bowling.
Gill leads a side built for the subcontinent
Shubman Gill remains at the helm as India's Test captain, continuing his tenure at the top of a team in transition. He is backed by the vastly experienced KL Rahul as vice-captain, giving the young leadership group a steady, senior head alongside it.
The squad is clearly built with Sri Lankan conditions in mind, which means spin, and lots of it. The return of Ravindra Jadeja is central to that. The veteran all-rounder, a player who contributes with both bat and ball, is back after recovering from the tennis elbow injury he suffered during the 2026 IPL, and his left-arm spin, lower-order runs and brilliant fielding are ideally suited to turning tracks.
A maiden call-up and a deep spin attack
The feel-good story of the announcement is Saransh Jain, the Madhya Pradesh all-rounder who earns his maiden Test call-up after years of heavy run-scoring and wicket-taking in domestic cricket. His off-spin adds another slow-bowling option to an already deep group.
Around Jadeja and Jain, India have wrist-spinner Kuldeep Yadav and the promising young left-arm spinner Manav Suthar, who held his place after a Player-of-the-Match display on his Test debut against Afghanistan in June. That is a formidable spin unit for the conditions, the kind of attack designed to take twenty wickets on a slow, dry surface.
The injury news
This squad has been shuffled by fitness problems, so here is where things stand.
The biggest blow is the loss of Jasprit Bumrah, India's premier fast bowler, who has been ruled out through injury. Jammu and Kashmir pacer Auqib Nabi comes in as his replacement and earns a maiden call-up. In addition, top-order batter Sai Sudharsan has withdrawn, with Sarfaraz Khan brought into the batting group, and all-rounder Washington Sundar is unavailable for the first Test in Galle. It leaves the seam attack leaning on Mohammed Siraj, supported by Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar and the uncapped Nabi.
Schedule and start times
Both Tests are day games. Sri Lanka runs on the same clock as India, so local time and IST are identical.
| Test | Dates | Venue | Local / IST | ET |
| 1st Test | Aug 15 to 19 | Galle International Stadium, Galle | 10:00 AM | 12:30 AM |
| 2nd Test | Aug 23 to 27 | Colombo | 10:00 AM | 12:30 AM |
Play starts at 10:00 AM local each day, which is also 10:00 AM IST and 12:30 AM in the eastern United States. Fans in India get a perfect morning-to-evening watch, while those in North America will need to be up very late or very early.
What it all means
This is a series India will expect to win, but not one they can take lightly. Sri Lanka are dangerous at home, especially in spinning conditions where their own slow bowlers thrive, and India arrive without their best fast bowler and still searching for form after that home defeat. The heavy spin selection shows the selectors know exactly what kind of battle awaits.
For Gill, it is a chance to stamp his authority on a young side. For Jadeja, it is a timely return. And for Saransh Jain and Auqib Nabi, it is the opportunity of a lifetime. Get the balance right, and India can climb the World Test Championship table. Get it wrong, and a tricky subcontinent tour could bite.
Keep it locked to Cricket Daily for team news, playing XI updates, and full coverage of India's tour of Sri Lanka.
India's squad for the Sri Lanka Tests
Batters: Shubman Gill (captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sarfaraz Khan, Devdutt Padikkal
Wicketkeepers: Rishabh Pant, Dhruv Jurel
All-rounders: Ravindra Jadeja, Saransh Jain
Spinners: Kuldeep Yadav, Manav Suthar
Pace bowlers: Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Auqib Nabi
India's last five Tests
India's recent Test record is really a tale of two very different challenges. In their last five Tests they have won three and lost two, but the details matter more than the raw numbers.
They have been dominant against weaker opposition, thrashing Afghanistan by an innings and 300 runs in June 2026 and sweeping West Indies 2-0 last October. Sandwiched in between, though, was a chastening shock, a 2-0 home defeat to South Africa in November 2025 that was India's first home Test series loss in nearly 12 years.
Their last five results, most recent first:
- Beat Afghanistan by an innings and 300 runs (June 2026)
- Lost to South Africa (November 2025)
- Lost to South Africa by 30 runs (November 2025)
- Beat West Indies by 7 wickets (October 2025)
- Beat West Indies by an innings and 140 runs (October 2025)
The takeaway is clear enough. India blow away the teams they are expected to beat, but were found out by a strong, disciplined South Africa side. Sri Lanka at home, in spin-friendly conditions, sit somewhere in between, which is exactly why this series could be trickier than it looks on paper.