India vs Sri Lanka 2026 Best Predicted WTC Test Series Squad List

Cricket, Dhruv Jurel, Harsh Dubey, India Cricket Team, India Tour of Sri Lanka, India vs Sri Lanka, Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Ravindra Jadeja, Rishabh Pant, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill, Sri Lanka Cricket Team, Test Cricket, Washington Sundar, Yashasvi Jaiswal July 24, 202617 hours

With the WTC challenge beginning, discover the India vs Sri Lanka 2026 Test series best predicted squad and players list for the Indian team.

Test Cricket – does this format sound familiar? Well, I hope it does. It feels ages since India last played a Test series (ignoring the one-off trivial Test match vs Afghanistan). Just to recap, the last Test series played in November 2025 was one of the most disappointing Test series for India in the history of Test Cricket. Not only did India get whitewashed 0-2 by South Africa at home, but they were also whitewashed back-to-back in Test series at home, with the previous being 3-0 to New Zealand.

These are some of the toughest times for India when it comes to Test cricket. Except for West Indies, where they won 2-0, the other Test series, like the one against South Africa, England, New Zealand, and Australia, have been extremely disappointing to say the least. India are also sitting in 5th position in the WTC 2025-27 points table, and the upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka, Australia, and New Zealand becomes extremely important.

While Team India face Australia at home, they face New Zealand and Sri Lanka away from home. While Australia are a tough opponent, irrespective of whether you play them at home or away, playing Sri Lanka and New Zealand away from home is another extremely difficult task. So, the upcoming Sri Lanka Test series becomes extremely important, and brings up a lot of challenges if pitches assist spin.

India Tour of Sri Lanka 2026 Best Predicted Test Squad Explained

India face Sri Lanka in a 2-match Test series as a part of the WTC 2025-27 cycle. While these are not must-win games, a loss in the Test series can almost send India packing at home. However, even as Sri Lanka aren’t as dangerous a side as they were in the late 90s or early 2000s, they can never be taken lightly in their den. Spin is their biggest strength, and as unfortunate as it may sound, spin is our current biggest weakness.

So, as India prepare for the 2-match Test series vs Sri Lanka, the selection of the squad becomes equally important. In the last one-match Test match, India had selected a strong 15-member squad, but the squad was without two solid players – Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja. While missing the one-off Test match vs Afghanistan was completely fine, these two will definitely not miss this all-important Test series.

So, if Jasprit Bumrah and Ravindra Jadeja make a comeback, who goes out? Well, Gurnoor Brar should make way for Jasprit Bumrah, and Harsh Dubey should make way for Ravindra Jadeja. But since Nitish Reddy may still not recover fully, Harsh Dubey should be able to retain his position in the squad. The rest of the lineup should remain the same as we had seen in the one-off Test match against Afghanistan.

India Tour of Sri Lanka 2026 Best Predicted Test Series Squad List

Batters

Devdutt Padikkal
KL Rahul
Sai Sudharsan
Shubman Gill (c)
Yashasvi Jaiswal

Wicket-keepers

Dhruv Jurel
Rishabh Pant

All-rounders

Harsh Dubey
Manav Suthar
Ravindra Jadeja
Washington Sundar

Bowlers

Jasprit Bumrah
Kuldeep Yadav
Mohammed Siraj
Prasidh Krishna

Overall, India should continue with the same set of batters – Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Devdutt Padikkal, Shubman Gill, and Sai Sudharsan. In terms of Wicket-keepers, Rishabh Pant should be the primary keeper, and Dhruv Jurel should be the backup keeper. With Nitish Reddy not there, Ravindra Jadeja, Manav Suthar, Harsh Dubey, and Washington Sundar should be the three All-rounders. Among bowlers, Jasprit Bumrah, Prasidh Krishna, Mohammed Siraj, and Kuldeep Yadav should take care of the duties.

The Sri Lanka Test series will be one of the toughest assignments for Team India, if and only if spin plays a good part in the series. In the recently concluded India A series in Sri Lanka, flat pitches were prepared in both Tests, and that made both Test matches boring, with both teams scoring tons of runs. So, if flat pitches are on offer once again, India will carry a big advantage. If not, Sri Lanka may give a tough time to India on relatively slow pitches.