Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out of the two-match Test series in Sri Lanka due to an ongoing injury problem, according to the Board of Control for Cricket in India. The premier fast bowler has not yet recovered from a left knee injury that he suffered in the last One Day International series against England. In his absence, Jammu and Kashmir seamer Auqib Nabi is the direct replacement for Jasprit Bumrah, who has been selected for the Test team, marking a historic first international call-up for the young fast bowler.
Nabi, who hails from a remote village in Baramulla, Jammu and Kashmir, is the third player from the union territory to ever make a call-up to the senior team, following Parvez Rasool and Umran Malik. Rasool and Malik have already represented the country in limited overs, but Nabi stands on the cusp of a historic red-ball debut. The seamer has delivered significant domestic momentum into the national team, having taken 104 wickets in the past two Ranji Trophy seasons, which included 60 wickets during the 2025-2026 domestic campaign, in which he was instrumental in Jammu and Kashmir’s first Ranji Trophy victory. Nabi is also a handy lower-order batsman who can contribute valuable runs, and his recent stint with the India A squad in Sri Lanka, in which he took six wickets in two first-class games, added to his confidence in international cricket.
As for Bumrah, the knee swelling was far more serious than doctors thought. He had already missed the third ODI against England at Lord's after an impact injury. However, the sports science team was not anxious to rush the talismanic fast bowler back into the rigors of international red-ball cricket with a packed and demanding international schedule ahead of him.
Besides Bumrah's absence, the team management is also monitoring the fitness of top-order batsman B Sai Sudharsan. His participation in the upcoming series will be subject to fitness clearance as he continues his steady recovery from a foot injury sustained during the recent India A tour to the island nation. The two-match Test series will begin on August 15 in Galle and will be an interesting one.
India's updated squad for the Test series features Shubman Gill as captain, with KL Rahul serving as vice-captain. The full roster also includes Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant as wicketkeeper, B Sai Sudharsan, Dhruv Jurel as wicketkeeper, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Manav Suthar, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Devdutt Padikkal, Saransh Jain, and Auqib Nabi.
