Jammu & Kashmir Pacer Auqib Nabi selected for Sri Lanka Tests as Jasprit Bumrah Fails Fitness Test
The Men's Selection Committee has picked Auqib Nabi to replace Bumrah. The Jammu and Kashmir fast bowler receives his first call-up to the senior national squad
Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out of the forthcoming Test series against Sri Lanka because he has not fully healed from a left knee injury suffered during the ODI series against England.
The BCCI Men's Selection Committee has picked Auqib Nabi to replace Bumrah. The Jammu and Kashmir fast bowler receives his first call-up to the senior national squad. Nabi took 104 wickets in the previous two Ranji Trophy seasons, including 60 in the 2025-26 season, helping Jammu & Kashmir win their first Ranji Trophy. He was also a member of the India A side that recently visited Sri Lanka, where he took six wickets in two first-class games.
In First-Class cricket, Auqib has played 43 matches and 71 innings, taking 162 wickets at an average of 18.63 and a strike rate of 38.5. He has claimed 16 five-wicket hauls and four 10-wicket hauls.
India are also dealing with several injury concerns, with Harshit Rana and Nitish Kumar Reddy sidelined by hamstring and quadriceps injuries, respectively. Washington Sundar has been ruled out of the first Test due to a hamstring injury, while Akash Deep remains unavailable as he continues his recovery from stress reactions in his back.
The opening Test between India and Sri Lanka will be played at the Galle International Stadium from August 15, while the second Test is scheduled at the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) in Colombo from August 23. Both matches are scheduled to start at 10:00 AM IST.
The series will form part of the ongoing ICC World Test Championship 2025-27 cycle. Led by Shubman Gill, India are currently fifth in the World Test Championship standings, having registered four wins and four losses in nine matches, with a Points Percentage (PCT) of 48.150.
India's updated squad for the Test series against Sri Lanka is: Shubman Gill (Captain), KL Rahul (Vice-Captain), 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 and Auqib Nabi.