New Delhi: The Ajit Agarkar-led senior men’s selection committee will announce India’s Test squad for the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka by Tuesday, said BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia Saturday.
The Shubman Gill-led squad is scheduled to play two Test matches in Sri Lanka as part of their ICC World Test Championship (WTC) commitments. “By Tuesday, we’ll announce the Test team,” Saikia told IANS.
The opening Test match will be played at the picturesque Galle International Cricket Stadium (GICS) from August 15 to 19. The second and final Test will be played at the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) in Colombo from August 23 to 27.
IANS had previously reported July 20 that the Indian team will land in Colombo August 4 and will play a four-day warm-up game from August 7 to 10 at the Nondescripts Cricket Club (NCC) in Colombo.
While the majority of the squad will be the same, India’s main concerns will be around the status of ace fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah and off-spin bowling all-rounder Washington Sundar. Bumrah missed the series-deciding third ODI against England at Lord’s after suffering an impact injury and reactive swelling on his left knee in the second game in Cardiff.
Washington, meanwhile, is recovering from a right hamstring strain which ruled him out of the game at Lord’s, and it’s yet to be known if he will be in time for the series, which is India’s first trip to play Tests in Sri Lanka after 2017. A return for veteran left-arm spinner Ravindra Jadeja will also be on the cards after he was rested from the one-off game against Afghanistan in New Chandigarh and wasn’t selected for ODIs in England.
Meanwhile, the BCCI’s review meeting to dissect the national team’s recent white-ball performances is expected to happen soon once the ongoing T20I series against Zimbabwe is over Sunday. “Regarding the review meeting, we are going to do it sometime in the beginning of the next month, that is August,” added Saikia.
It is understood that top BCCI officials will meet at the headquarters in Mumbai with head coach Gautam Gambhir, T20I captain Shreyas Iyer, Centre of Excellence (COE) head of cricket VVS Laxman, and the five-member selection panel.
The review meeting comes after India had T20I series defeats in Ireland (2-0) and England (4-0) before losing the ODI series 2-1. While no knee-jerk changes are expected, it is understood the meeting will address long-term tactical planning, execution of game plans in overseas conditions, and the wider roadmap leading into the 2027 Men’s ODI World Cup.
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