Sarfaraz Khan is in India’s squad for the Sri Lanka series, replacing the injured Sai Sudharsan, and his arrival makes No. 6 the most debated pick before Galle. Sudharsan is out with a right toe stress reaction from the India A tour and remains at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. Sarfaraz joins the group in Colombo before the move to Galle for the first Test on August 15. His arrival pits him directly against Dhruv Jurel for one middle-order berth, shaping how the entire order lines up.
BCCI Names Injury Replacement For Sudharsan
BCCI confirmed on August 10 that Sarfaraz Khan has been added to the Test squad for Sri Lanka as a direct replacement for Sai Sudharsan, who is out of both matches. Sudharsan remains at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, recovering well from the toe injury but not yet fit to play.
Sarfaraz joins the squad in Colombo before the team moves to Galle, where the first Test starts on August 15. He is not the only late change: Bumrah was already replaced by Auqib Nabi, and Washington Sundar is unavailable for the opener.
Sarfaraz Khan Sri Lanka Test series call-up
This is Sarfaraz’s first Test recall since November 2024, when a home series against New Zealand ended with him out of favour, and he missed the entire Border-Gavaskar Trophy squad picture that followed. He was not selected for India A’s parallel unofficial Tests on this tour, so the recall arrives without recent red-ball form on Sri Lankan surfaces.
What he brings instead is a first-class résumé selectors have watched build for years, and that gap between domestic form and opportunity is what Sudharsan’s injury opened up. Whether he plays depends on No. 6.
The Numbers Behind India’s Gamble
Sarfaraz’s Test record reads six matches, 371 runs and an average of 37.10, built largely around one innings: 150 against New Zealand at Bengaluru in October 2024, his maiden century. His debut in February 2024 against England at Rajkot remains the standout entry, 62 and 68 not out, making him only the fourth Indian to pass fifty in both innings on debut.
The first-class numbers built this recall. His FC average sits at 65.26, the fifth highest in history among players with at least 50 innings, lifted by a double century of 227 off 219 balls against Hyderabad in January, his fifth career double hundred. That résumé includes 17 centuries, over 5,000 runs and a best of 301 not out against Uttar Pradesh in 2019-20.
This season he made 863 Ranji Trophy runs the year before, is averaging 53.62 in the current campaign, struck a maiden T20 century at a strike rate of 203, and hit the fastest List A fifty by an Indian, 15 balls, in the Vijay Hazare Trophy. Against England Lions in May he made 92 at Canterbury.
The Battle For India’s Middle Order
India’s warm-up win over a Sri Lanka Cricket XI in Colombo, by six wickets, did most of the talking before the injury needed replacing. Devdutt Padikkal’s unbeaten 142 at No. 3 locked down that spot, and Shubman Gill’s 44 on return from a finger niggle confirmed his fitness at No. 4. The muddle sits one spot lower.
| Position | Player | Status |
|---|---|---|
| No. 1 | Yashasvi Jaiswal | Confirmed opener |
| No. 2 | KL Rahul (VC) | Opens with Jaiswal |
| No. 3 | Devdutt Padikkal | 142 not out in warm-up |
| No. 4 | Shubman Gill (C) | Fit, scored 44 in warm-up |
| No. 5 | Rishabh Pant (WK) | Confirmed |
| No. 6 | Dhruv Jurel or Sarfaraz Khan | Contested, Jurel scored 1 and 17 |
| No. 7 | Ravindra Jadeja | Returns since January 2026 |
Dhruv Jurel managed 1 and 17 across his two warm-up innings and has struggled against off-spin in Test cricket, while Sarfaraz arrives with no red-ball innings on this tour but a first-class average few can match. India sit fifth in the World Test Championship table on 48.15 percent and Sri Lanka sixth on 41.67, so neither side can afford a passenger at No. 6.
Whoever wins that fight walks into a Test both teams need. The Sarfaraz Khan Sri Lanka Test series call up has turned a routine injury replacement into the most closely watched middle-order call of the week, and Galle will settle it inside the first innings.