Sarfaraz Khan joins India squad ahead of Galle Test

Indian batter Sarfaraz Khan joined the Indian team ahead of the first Test against Sri Lanka at the Galle International Cricket Stadium starting on August 15.

Sarfaraz takes his place as a replacement for India's number three Sai Sudharsan, who was ruled out of the series due to an injury. Revealing a lean look after months of hard work on his fitness, Sarfaraz posted a selfie wearing Indian colours on his Instagram.

Sarfaraz last played for India against New Zealand in November 2024, during the series that saw India suffer their first series loss at home in 12 years, with the defeat being their first by whitewash. He also made his Test debut earlier that year against England at home. Though named in the squad for India's Border-Gavaskar Trophy series tour to Australia from 2024-25, he did not get a match. In six Tests and 11 innings for India, he scored 371 runs at an average of 37.10, with a century and three fifties, recording a best score of 150.

Sarfaraz makes a comeback after a solid domestic season for India, scoring 429 runs in seven Ranji Trophy matches and nine innings at an average of 53.62, with one century and one fifty and a best score of 227.

India's updated squad for the Test series against Sri Lanka includes Shubman Gill (Captain), KL Rahul (Vice-Captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Manav Suthar, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Devdutt Padikkal, Saransh Jain, Auqib Nabi, and Sarfaraz Khan.