Sudharsan failed to recover from the toe injury he sustained last month.
The Indian cricket team faces a severe injury crisis with key players sidelined ahead of the two-Test series against Sri Lanka, slated to begin on August 15 in Galle.
After Jasprit Bumrah and Washington Sundar, designated No. 3 batter Sai Sudharsan on Sunday (August 9) was officially ruled out of the Sri Lanka tour.
Sudharsan sustained a toe injury last month during India A's shadow tour of Sri Lanka. He was picked in the Test squad subject to fitness clearance.
Although the southpaw recently resumed light net practice at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru, he didn’t receive necessary medical clearances for the Test series.
“Sai Sudharsan has been ruled out of the Test series against Sri Lanka. The left-handed batter, who has been at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (COE) in Bengaluru, has made significant progress in his recovery from the right toe stress reaction and is recovering well. The BCCI Medical Team is closely monitoring his progress,” the board said in its official release.
Mumbai batter Sarfaraz Khan replaced Sai Sudharsan in the Test squad. Sarfaraz, who has the experience of 6 Test matches under his belt, earned the national recall after nearly two years.
“The Men’s Selection Committee has named Sarfaraz Khan as a replacement for Sai Sudharsan for the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka. He will link up with the Indian squad in Colombo before the team travels to Galle for the first Test match, starting August 15, 2026,” the release added.
India's updated squad for the Test series against Sri Lanka: 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, Sarfaraz Khan