Cricket-India's Bumrah ruled out of Sri Lanka tests, Nabi earns first call-up


Cricket - First One Day International - England v India - Edgbaston Cricket Ground, Birmingham, Britain - July 14, 2026 India's Jasprit Bumrah in action Action Images via Reuters/Ed Sykes

Aug 3 (Reuters) - India pace ⁠spearhead Jasprit Bumrah has been ruled out of this ⁠month's two-test series against Sri Lanka as he continues to ‌recover from a left knee injury, the country's cricket board (BCCI) said on Monday.

Bumrah, who sustained the injury while fielding in a one-day international against England in ​Cardiff in July, was initially included in ⁠the squad subject to a ⁠final fitness test and had been undergoing rehabilitation at the BCCI's ⁠Centre ‌of Excellence in Bengaluru.

However, he was withdrawn from the squad due to persistent discomfort in his knee, with ⁠uncapped fast bowler Auqib Nabi named as his replacement.

Nabi, ​29, earned his ‌first senior call-up after impressing in domestic cricket, taking ⁠104 wickets across ​the last two Ranji Trophy seasons.

Nabi, who hails from Jammu and Kashmir, took 60 wickets in the 2025-26 Ranji Trophy season to help ⁠his state win its first title. He ​also featured for India A on their tour of Sri Lanka in June-July, claiming six wickets in two first-class matches.

Nabi is the first ⁠cricketer from Jammu and Kashmir to receive a call-up to the senior test side.

The BCCI added that batter Sai Sudharsan's participation remains subject to fitness clearance.

India begin the series in Galle on ​August 15. The second test in Colombo ⁠begins on August 23.

INDIA SQUAD

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, Auqib Nabi.

(Reporting by Suramya Kaushik in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)

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