Sarfaraz Khan has been named as Sai Sudharsan’s replacement in India’s squad for the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka, with the selectors opting for experience as the left-hander continues his recovery from a right toe stress reaction.The BCCI confirmed on Sunday that Sudharsan has been ruled out of the series. The batter has been undergoing rehabilitation at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (COE) in Bengaluru and has made significant progress, but he is yet to recover fully from the injury.“The BCCI Medical Team is closely monitoring his progress,” the board said in a statement.The Men’s Selection Committee has now brought in Sarfaraz, who had emerged as one of the two contenders to replace Sudharsan. TimesofIndia.com had earlier reported that the selectors were considering Sarfaraz and Shaik Rasheed before eventually going with the Mumbai batter, with his experience at the highest level understood to have worked in his favour.Sarfaraz has already played six Tests for India and has scored 371 runs at an average of 37.10, including three half-centuries. His inclusion gives India another middle-order option as they prepare for the two-Test series.India’s updated squad for the Test series against Sri Lanka: Shubman Gill (Captain), KL Rahul (Vice-Captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Manav Suthar, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Devdutt Padikkal, Saransh Jain, Auqib Nabi, Sarfaraz KhanThe decision comes after India completed their three-day warm-up game against Sri Lanka Cricket XI in Colombo on Sunday. India chased down 207 in 45 overs to register a six-wicket victory.
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Yashasvi Jaiswal and Shubman Gill provided the platform with a 105-run opening partnership. Jaiswal responded to a first-innings duck with a quickfire 61 off 46 balls before retiring, while Gill made 44 after returning to competitive action following a finger injury.Rishabh Pant contributed 28 and Dhruv Jurel made 17 before Mohammed Siraj finished the chase in spectacular fashion, smashing 32 off just 15 balls, including three consecutive sixes.Earlier, Devdutt Padikkal’s unbeaten 142, Ravindra Jadeja’s 63 and Manav Suthar’s 41 helped India post 357 for six declared in the first innings.The warm-up provided India with valuable match practice ahead of the opening Test in Galle on August 15. With Sudharsan unavailable, Sarfaraz will now be part of India’s preparations as the team looks to finalise its combination for the series.
