India Test squad hit by injury crisis ahead of Sri Lanka tour; Bumrah, Sundar face fitness race

India Test squad hit by injury crisis (Agency picture) MUMBAI: The selection of India’s Test team for the two-Test tour of Sri Lanka in August has been hit by a slew of injuries and fitness issues for several key players, TOI has reliably learnt. BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia told TOI on Saturday that the Ajit Agarkar-led national selection committee will announce the squad for the Test tour by Tuesday.The first Test of the series will be held in Galle from August 15 to 19, while the second Test will be held at the SSC in Colombo from August 23 to 27.According to sources in the BCCI, it is a big blow for India, considering the pitches are likely to be corkscrew-friendly in both Tests, that out-of-spin all-rounder Washington Sundar is unavailable for the first Test due to a right hamstring injury.

CJP Jantar Mantar protest update

His availability for the second test is subject to eligibility. Sundar was ruled out of the third and final ODI at Lord’s in England on 19 July and replaced by left-arm spinner Harsh Dubey after sustaining an injury during the second ODI in Cardiff.Another big concern is that fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, who was also ruled out of the third ODI in England after sustaining a left knee injury in a collision during the second ODI against England in Cardiff, is likely to be selected under the ‘subject to fitness’ clause. Bumrah has been asked to rest till July 30, after which he will report to the BCCI Center of Excellence in Bengaluru.Also, India’s Test No.3 Sai Sudharsan is likely to be picked under the ‘Subject to Fitness’ clause, although he has learned to ‘recover well’. Sudharsan’s availability for the series is crucial given that he has been in good form in recent months. The Tamil Nadu & Gujarat Titans left-hander scored centuries (132 and 168) in both India A’s four-day matches against Sri Lanka on their recent ‘shadow tour’ of Lanka and 81 against Afghanistan in the one-off Test in New Chandigarh in June.The nature of his injuries is not yet known. The ‘trauma department’ does not end there. Race bowling all-rounders Harshit Rana and Nitish Kumar Reddy are unavailable for the tour after they are yet to recover from injuries. Rana was ruled out of the ODI series against England with a grade 1 biceps femoris strain (hamstring injury). The setback followed his recent comeback from a major right knee ligament strain and surgery that sidelined him for four months, causing him to miss the 2026 T20 World Cup and IPL-2026.Meanwhile, Reddy is still recovering from a left quadriceps injury that ruled him out of India’s recent white-ball tour of Ireland, England and Zimbabwe. He sustained the injury while bowling against Afghanistan in the home ODI series in June, and.Fast bowler Prince Yadav on Saturday became the latest Indian player to suffer an injury when he walked off mid-match after straining his left hamstring during the second T20I against Zimbabwe in Harare. Star all-rounder Hardik Pandya is still recovering from back spasms and quadriceps strain. Test fast bowler Akash has missed the entire IPL-2026 after suffering a recurrence of lower back stress reaction. He was initially expected to be out for eight to 12 weeks before undergoing a three-month recovery program in Bengaluru.After losing the ODI series 2-1 in England, India captain Shubman Gill said the team cannot afford players getting injured every few matches if they want to remain a strong contender in the 2027 ODI World Cup. “If you look at the first squad we announced (for the England ODI series), at least five players did not play the match. If one player is injured, you are looking at playing a different combination, two players are injuries, you look at playing a different combination, but if a player is missing after every game, then there is a trick missing somewhere,” he said.“If you keep the World Cup as a goal, where we have to play 11 games in a row and here we have players who are not able to finish a run of two for three games. So there is a certain limitation where our players are not able to play continuously, they play one or two games, it hurts them and then we are forced to play another combination that we did not originally plan to play a little bit on the ground. knowing that a player has a niggle, it’s almost like you want to take a risk that a player is at 80% fit, you’re playing with five bowlers and if that player goes out after five bowlers, who’s going to play, it’s difficult, so as a group we need to improve our fitness and all that stuff?PlayerAvailability statusFitness/UpdateWashington SundarNot available for 1st testAvailability for 2nd test depends on fitness.jasprit bumrahDepending on fitnessWill rest until July 30thafter which he will report to Center of Excellence (COE) for assessment.Sai SudharsanSubject to fitness Recovering well and being monitored.Harshit RanaUnavailableDeselected.Nita’s Kumar ReddyUnavailableDeselected.