Sarfaraz Khan has been reinstated to India’s Test team after a 20-month absence, stepping in for the injured B. Sai Sudharsan. This change comes ahead of the upcoming two-Test series against Sri Lanka, where the Mumbai batter will look to make an impact on the field.
Key Factors
Monitoring is very, very critical, and I’ve got no doubt that Adrian Le Roux (S&C coach, Indian team) and others are doing that,” the 51-year-old added. It may take 14 days or 28 days. Adding to that, white ball experts Hardik Pandya (quadriceps), Varun Chakravarthy (hamstring) and Prince Yadav (hamstring) are also at the Centre of Excellence where the Sports Science team is overworked without a figure head since the resignation of Nitin Patel in early 2025.
There are also rumours that COE and the current selection committee has always not been in sync with regards to the injury management timelines and some of the players being released before they ticked all the boxes. Because by the time the player will have to travel or play, he may be totally fit, “We don’t reject. India will be missing the services of Jasprit Bumrah (knee swelling), B Sai Sudharsan (left foot big toe), Harshit Rana (hamstring), Nitish Kumar Reddy (hamstring) and Washington Sundar (quadriceps) due to various injuries.
“There’s brilliant coordination between the CoE, the team management and the SSM (Sports Science & Medicine) staff. There has been a worrying trend of players being declared fit only to pick up a new injury within a short period of time. “Injuries are bound to happen. If you’re thinking about not getting injured, you’re not playing to the best of your ability. Both Bumrah and Sai Sudharsan were named conditionally in the squad for the two Tests against Sri Lanka before failing to obtain fitness clearances. Asked if it would be prudent to avoid players who are still undergoing rehabilitation, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia replied in the negative. It’s a human body, not a machine. Akash Deep (lower back stress fracture) has been out for the longest time since Bengal’s Ranji Trophy semi-final defeat. Right now the challenge is to get all these players back on the park. Sudharsan and Bumrah were enlisted in the squad subject to fitness but COE’s team of experts decided to exercise caution looking at the bigger picture. “Yes, secretary Saikia will be in Bengaluru to take a stock of the situation along with VVS Laxman. There is a meeting scheduled between the two. It is not known whether head coach of national team Gautam Gambhir or chairman of selectors Ajit Agarkar will join online or not.
“We don’t like to use the word blame, because when you do, you’re [trying to] find a scapegoat,” Laxman told reporters at the CoE premises on Sunday. Laxman stressed that this was not a cause for concern even as he clarified that the “CoE was not a rehab centre” and that it had a “bigger mandate”. “When someone is playing at the elite level, you’re supposed to give more than 100%,” Laxman said. “We have our selection meetings at least three to four weeks before the team departs,” Saikia said. It will be interesting if both Saikia and Laxman can front up and answer a few media queries with so many conjectures,” a BCCI source in the know told PTI on conditions of anonymity.
Concerned with the spate of injuries that has rocked Indian team of late, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia will be meeting Head Of Cricket VVS Laxman on Sunday to take a stock of the rehabilitation management programme at the Centre of Excellence (COE).
Evidence and Data
“Sai Sudharsan has been ruled out of the upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka. Doctors have advised more time for biological healing. The Sports Science team has informed the management and national selection committee. The medical cum fitness advice for Sudharsan reads: “Rehabilitation, strength & conditioning, and cricket-specific loads should be increased gradually and under close monitoring. The cautious approach is aimed at reducing the risk of recurrence or further complications and protecting long-term performance. In his absence, Devdutt Padikkal, who scored a century in the practice game, will be the new number three batter. It will be interesting to see who replaces Sudharsan in the squad. With Indian cricket in the throes of an injury crisis, the latest being Jasprit Bumrah and B. Sai Sudharsan’s absence from the upcoming tour to Sri Lanka, V.V.S. Laxman, head of BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (CoE), defended the institution’s injury-management methods and recovery protocols.
Significant improvement, but not yet sufficient for a safe return to Test cricket,” according to the update from the Sports Science team which is monitoring the rehabilitation of the player.
What It Means
However once the dust settled down, it was found that Bumrah, post impact injury is finding that there is water retention in his knee which requires more time to heal.
Outlook
The 28-year-old had emerged as a primary contender alongside Shaik Rasheed and Ruturaj Gaikwad. Sarfaraz’s selection marks the return of a batter whose Test career had appeared to stall after his promising debut in 2024. He was conspicuously left out of India’s squad after not getting an opportunity during the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. All of his six Test appearances came in 2024. 3, created by Sai Sudharsan’s absence, may give Sarfaraz a chance to revive his Test career that began with considerable promise.
The Hindu understands that the selection committee, in consultation with the team management, picked Sarfaraz after Sai Sudharsan did not recover in time from a right big-toe stress injury. Rasheed, who has been knocking on the selectors’ door after a prolific domestic run, was considered for his ability to bat in the top-order while Ruturaj’s experience and First Class record kept him in the conversation. The Mumbai batter has continued to remain a top performer in domestic cricket, keeping himself in the selection frame despite the long hiatus at the international level. The vacancy at No.
Sudharsan, who scored two tons in two ‘A’ Test matches, was hit during the second game against Sri Lanka ‘A’ and since then has been in rehabilitation at the Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru. The BCCI announced Sarfaraz’s inclusion on Sunday. He is expected to link up with the Indian team in Colombo before the side travels to Galle on Tuesday. Talented top order batter B Sai Sudharsan was on Saturday ruled out of the two-Test series against Sri Lanka after failing to recover from a big toe injury sustained during the India A tour of the island nation last month.
