Fresh faces in whites for India's Sri Lanka series
A look at the two uncapped players who received their maiden call-ups in the longest format.
India have included two uncapped players in the Test squad for Sri Lanka even as premium fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out due to an injury.
All-rounder Saransh Jain was a part of the initial squad while the bowler Auqib Nabi comes in as a replacement for Bumrah.
Saransh Jain
Spin all-rounder Saransh Jain is a right-arm off-break bowler who bats left-handed. The 33-year-old has a rich first-class history behind him, boasting 188 wickets and 2223 runs at an average of 27.30 and 31.75, respectively.
In three of the last four Ranji Trophy seasons, Jain has scored over 300 runs and taken 25 wickets in every season. The latest edition was his best yet, as he piled up 518 runs at an average of 57.55 and picked up 30 wickets at 20.43. In total, he has two first-class centuries and 14 half-centuries to his name.
He was also named Player of the Tournament in the Duleep Trophy, notching up two half-centuries and grabbing 16 wickets in just two matches.
Recently, he was part of the India A squad that toured Sri Lanka, where he scored 70* and picked up six wickets in the second four-day match in Galle, one of the venues for the upcoming two-match Test series.
Auqib Nabi
The 29-year old pacer from Jammu and Kashmir was the chief architect of the state's maiden Ranji Trophy triumph, winning the player of the tournament award as well. He bagged 60 wickets in ten matches in the 2025-26 edition, which is the third highest for an Indian pacer.
With a total of 104 across two Ranji Trophy seasons, Auqib took 13 five-wicket hauls in 18 matches, seven of them in the second edition, the equal-most by any pacer in a first-class season in India.
Auqib has a century to his name in List A cricket, where he scored 114* against Hyderabad in a Vijay Hazare Trophy game.
Auqib was also a part of the India A side that toured Sri Lanka a while back and he claimed six wickets in the two matches he was a part of.
India will hope the additions to the squad and their recent experience in the island nation provide the momentum needed to climb the ICC World Test Championship standings.
Sri Lanka Test series schedule:
First Test: August 15-19, Galle
Second Test: August 23-27, Colombo
Image courtesy: BCCI