The Gautam Gambhir and Shubman Gill-led Indian Team management has taken a strong decision after India won the first of the two Tests against Sri Lanka, which was played in Galle. India won the first Test by 165 runs and went 1-0 in the Test series.

The second Test between India and Sri Lanka began on August 23, 2026, coinciding with the start of India’s domestic season, with the Duleep Trophy 2026-27 tournament beginning. The Indian Test team's reserve players would not be released for the competition, according to the team management.

RevSportz has reported that the decision has been made to ensure India has enough backup in case a need for options arises if any concussion substitute is needed. Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna were chosen to spearhead the pace attack, leaving players like Gurnoor Brar and Auqib Nabi out of the opening Test.

Brar and Nabi are probably going to be sidelined once more as India is anticipated to go with the same pace combination for the second Test. They won't be able to join the North Zone team for the domestic competition, though, and they will have to remain in Colombo.

Meanwhile, North Zone is playing on the first day of the Duleep Trophy, with Brar and Nabi representing the zone. However, team management has a valid reason for preserving the reserves. 

The West Zone and East Zone are also competing on the first day of the Duleep Trophy. Meanwhile, the South Zone and Central Zone will start the competition as semi-finalists, with their first matches scheduled for August 30.

Meanwhile, Shubman Gill won the toss in the second Test in Colombo and chose to bat first. India made 88/2 at lunch, with Yashasvi Jaiswal making 45 off 53 balls and KL Rahul making 18 runs. Gill and Devdutt Padikkal were at the crease.

(PTI inputs)