India vs Sri Lanka 2026: BCCI Official WTC Test Series Squad List

August 13, 2026 Adesh Kothari 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 5 min read

Updated 03 Aug 2026: The India vs Sri Lanka Test Squad 2026 article has been revised after Jasprit Bumrah was ruled out of the Test series. Auqib Nabi was added as the replacement.

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 Official Test Series Squad List

Batters

Devdutt Padikkal
KL Rahul (vc)
Sarfaraz Khan
Shubman Gill (c)
Yashasvi Jaiswal

Wicket-keepers

Dhruv Jurel
Rishabh Pant

All-rounders

Manav Suthar
Ravindra Jadeja
Saransh Jain

Bowlers

Auqib Nabi
Gurnoor Brar
Kuldeep Yadav
Mohammed Siraj
Prasidh Krishna

The BCCI has confirmed the 15-member squad for the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka. Shubman Gill continues as captain, with KL Rahul named vice-captain.

How This Differs From Our Prediction

Our original predicted squad got 13 of the 15 picks right, including the top order, both wicketkeepers, and the core pace-bowling unit. Two changes stood out:

Washington Sundar and Harsh Dubey miss out. Sundar is still working his way back from the hamstring injury that ruled him out of the England ODI series, and wasn’t fit in time for the Galle opener. Dubey, who deputised for Sundar in the ODIs, doesn’t carry over into the Test squad either.

Saransh Jain gets a maiden call-up. The off-spinning all-rounder was in outstanding form for India A against Sri Lanka A, taking six wickets across two matches and scoring an unbeaten 70 in Galle. With Sri Lanka’s batting line-up carrying several left-handers, an off-spinner who turns the ball away from the bat gives the selectors a genuine tactical option, and his lower-order batting fits Gautam Gambhir’s preference for depth down to No. 8.

Gurnoor Brar strengthens the pace back-up. With Bumrah’s fitness still not clear, Brar’s recent form (10 wickets against Sri Lanka A) made him the clear reserve seamer, ahead of Akash Deep.

India vs Sri Lanka 2026 Official Test Series Squad Analysis

Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (c), Devdutt Padikkal, Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah (if fit), Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna. If Bumrah isn’t cleared to play, Gurnoor Brar is the likely replacement. Manav Suthar and Saransh Jain provide spin-bowling cover and could come into contention on a turning Galle surface, potentially at the expense of a pace option.

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.