India have named Auqib Nabi as Jasprit Bumrah’s replacement for the upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka.
Auqib Nabi gets maiden India call-up
Nabi has finally been rewarded for his stellar Ranji Trophy form over the last two seasons with a maiden India call-up. The Jammu & Kashmir speedster took 44 wickets in the 2024-25 season of India’s premier first-class tournament, before picking up another 60 in the latest season to lead his side to their first-ever Ranji title.
Nabi’s non-selection for the one-off Test against Afghanistan had earlier attracted criticism. He was part of the India A red-ball squad on their tour of Sri Lanka, where he picked up six wickets in two matches.
Bumrah, meanwhile, sustained an injury to his left knee during the second ODI against England in Cardiff and didn't play the third game of the series. As per a Cricinfo report, Bumrah has been nursing the issue since the T20 World Cup earlier this year, and the BCCI are eager not to rush him back into action, and have thus ruled him out of the Sri Lanka series.
Bumrah’s unavailability is a big setback for Shubman Gill and Co, with the team currently sitting fifth in the World Test Championship table, and only having an outside chance to qualify for the WTC final. The first Test of the series is scheduled to start on August 15 in Galle, while the second game will be played in Colombo from August 23.
India's updated squad for Sri Lanka Tests
Shubman Gill (c), KL Rahul (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sai Sudharsan*, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Manav Suthar, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Devdutt Padikkal, Saransh Jain, Auqib Nabi.
*subject to fitness clearance
Also read: A 33-year-old without an IPL game? Explaining India's rogue pick to solve their Test off-spin woes
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