Tanush Kotian and Harsh Dubey are the two uncapped spinners now traveling with India’s Test squad as specialist net bowlers for the Sri Lanka series. Vipraj Nigam makes it three, each picked to replicate the turn and bounce the top order will face in Galle. Dubey has two ODI caps already; Kotian has never featured for India at senior level. Their addition, alongside a training block built entirely around facing spin in Mumbai, signals exactly how seriously the team management is treating conditions on this tour.
Kotian Dubey India Net Bowlers Sri Lanka
Three players make up India’s net bowling unit for this tour: Tanush Kotian, Harsh Dubey and Vipraj Nigam. One report named a fourth man, Shivang Kumar, though no second outlet has confirmed it, so that detail stays unverified for now. Kotian is an off-spinner from Mumbai with 131 first-class wickets at 27.48, plus 2,168 runs including two hundreds and 17 fifties, genuine lower-order craft too. Dubey, a left-arm orthodox bowler from Vidarbha, has taken 136 wickets at 23.55 with a best of 6 for 36, and he can bat too, averaging 25.83 with nine fifties.
Neither man has played a Test. Dubey has appeared in two ODIs for India, while Kotian is still waiting on his senior debut. Dubey was also part of the squad for the one-off Test against Afghanistan earlier this year, so this tour is not entirely new territory for him. Nigam, with only six first-class matches behind him, is the least experienced of the three.
Training For Turn In Mumbai
The prep work has been happening at Wings Sports Centre in Bandra West, a multi-sport facility run by former India cricketer and ex-selector Jatin Paranjape. KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal have both been working there against the spinning ball ahead of departure, using nets that hold plenty of turn even through the Mumbai monsoon. Kotian has described the wicket as one that offers real assistance and said the two batters have trained alongside the net bowlers for several days running. Rahul arrives on the back of a strong WTC 2025-27 cycle, 796 runs in nine Tests at 49.75 with three hundreds, second only to Shubman Gill among run scorers in the current cycle.
India leave Mumbai on Tuesday evening, with a four-day practice match in Colombo starting August 7 before the series opener.
What Galle Pitch Data Shows
Galle has a reputation for wearing quickly, and the numbers back it up. Innings-by-innings figures from June 2025 show scoring drop off a cliff as a match progresses: 372 in the first innings, 329 in the second, 239 in the third and just 157 in the fourth. Across 46 Tests through February 2025, teams batting first won 25 times against 15 for the side batting second, with six draws, a clear first-innings advantage. Recent history backs the spin angle too, Prabath Jayasuriya took nine wickets in a single Test against New Zealand at this ground in September 2024.
The extremes tell their own story: South Africa were bowled out for 73 here in 2018, while Sri Lanka piled up 704 for 3 declared against Ireland in 2023. Run rates split 3.29 batting first against 3.02 batting second, adding up to a venue where surviving the last two innings matters more than anything else.
India’s Full Squad And Coaching Setup
Shubman Gill captains a 15-man squad that includes Rahul as vice-captain, Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav and Mohammed Siraj. Sai Sudharsan’s spot is subject to a fitness clearance from the BCCI medical team, and Washington Sundar was ruled out with a hamstring injury before the squad was even announced. Auqib Nabi comes in as cover after Jasprit Bumrah’s injury forced him out.
On the coaching side, Gambhir remains head coach with Kotak as batting coach, and Ghosh is the newly appointed fielding coach, replacing T Dilip. Bowling coach Morne Morkel and assistant Ryan ten Doeschate have uncertain futures after reportedly weighing an exit post England series, with Lakshmipathy Balaji on standby if Morkel leaves. Whatever the final shape of the support staff, the entire point of this Kotian Dubey India net bowlers Sri Lanka buildup is exposure to spin before the first ball is bowled at Galle on August 15.