Sarfaraz Khan's Second Chance: The Comeback India Needed

Dr. Annelies De Vos · 2026-08-10

India have called up Sarfaraz Khan to replace the injured Sai Sudharsan for the upcoming two-match Test series against Sri Lanka. Sudharsan was ruled out after suffering a right toe stress reaction and is currently recovering at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru, where the board says he has shown steady improvement. Sarfaraz, who last featured in a Test back in 2024—the same year he made his debut—returns to the squad after a long wait on the sidelines. He has appeared in six Tests overall, scoring 371 runs at an average that includes one hundred and three half-centuries. It's been a frustrating stretch for a batter who simply couldn't buy a look-in with the national team. ### Sarfaraz Khan's Road Back to the Indian Test Squad Sarfaraz travelled with India's squad for the 2024-25 tour of Australia but never got a chance to play, and selectors left him out entirely for last year's tour of England. You'd think that would break a player's confidence, but not this guy. His domestic form kept him firmly in contention. He finished as Mumbai's third-highest run-scorer in the 2025 Ranji Trophy season, piling up 429 runs across seven matches at an average above 53. Across his first-class career, his average of 64.73 ranks among the best for any batter with at least 50 innings. That's not a fluke—that's a pattern. It explains why the selectors kept returning to his name despite the lack of recent Test cricket. When you're that consistent at the domestic level, you're never truly out of the conversation. ### Injuries Pile Up as India Prepare for Sri Lanka Tour India head into this series short-handed, with several frontline players unavailable, including Jasprit Bumrah and Washington Sundar. That's a significant blow, no doubt. Captain Shubman Gill did not bat in the first innings of India's warm-up game against the Sri Lanka Cricket XI, a decision that raised questions ahead of the series opener. Spin-bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule moved quickly to clear up any concern, describing the call as purely precautionary rather than injury-related. Gill returned for the second innings and looked comfortable, scoring 44 off 54 balls as India completed the chase on the final day of the tour match. "It was just a precaution more than anything else," Bahutule said after the game ended. He added that Gill had trained normally throughout and that team management simply chose to rest him on the opening day. Bahutule called Gill's second-innings knock flawless and confirmed the captain is fully prepared for the Test series. ### Sri Lanka Series Dates and India's World Test Championship Standing The first Test begins on August 15 in Galle, followed by the second match starting August 23 at the SSC in Colombo. Both games carry weight in the ongoing World Test Championship cycle, where India currently sit fifth after four wins and four losses from nine matches. Here's what's at stake: - A series win would push India up the WTC table as the cycle tightens - Sarfaraz gets a genuine chance to cement his spot after years of waiting - India's bowling attack needs to step up without Bumrah's experience - Gill's captaincy will face its first real test on turning tracks A strong showing in Sri Lanka would help India's push up the table as the WTC standings tighten heading into the business end of the cycle. Every point matters now, and these two matches could shape the entire campaign. ### India's Test Squad for the Series Here's the full squad announced for the two-match series: - Shubman Gill (capt), KL Rahul, 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 - Sarfaraz Khan This is a squad that blends experience with youthful energy. The spin department looks deep, which should serve India well on Sri Lankan pitches that tend to turn. And with Sarfaraz back in the mix, there's a renewed sense of purpose in the batting order. The big question now is whether he'll get the nod in the playing XI. Given his domestic dominance and the team's need for a solid middle-order presence, you'd have to think he's in with a strong shout. Either way, this is a moment Sarfaraz has been waiting for—and he knows exactly what to do with it.