3 spinners, Pant wicketkeeper, Prasidh Krishna and Devdutt Padikkal out, India’s strongest playing XI for Test against Sri Lanka

New Delhi. The Indian men’s cricket team is all set to tour Sri Lanka for a two-match Test series in August. This series is going to be very special and challenging for the Indian team. It is important for India to win this series to keep alive its hopes of reaching the final of the 2027 World Test Championship. The BCCI selection committee announced the Indian team for this important tour on July 28. Expressing confidence in the team of the only Test played against Afghanistan, the selectors have retained 12 players of that team for the tour of Sri Lanka. Before the start of this much-awaited series, let us take a look at India’s possible and strongest playing XI against Sri Lanka.

The responsibility of opening the Indian innings will be on the shoulders of Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul. Mumbai’s talented left-handed batsman Yashasvi Jaiswal will face Sri Lanka for the first time in his Test career. This will be his first Test tour on Sri Lankan soil and his aggressive style will give hope to the team for a fast start. At the same time, test team vice-captain KL Rahul will be seen with him as the second opener. Experienced right-handed batsman Rahul’s technique and his experience of playing on the spin-friendly pitches of Sri Lanka will provide solid balance to the Indian batting order.

Middle order: Big responsibility to score runs
Young batsman Sai Sudharsan may get a chance at number 3. However, his participation will completely depend on match fitness. If he is declared fully fit, then this left-handed batsman will be seen batting at number three against Sri Lanka. Indian team captain Shubman Gill himself will take command at number four. Gill is in great form at the moment and had scored more than 750 runs in India’s last overseas Test series. As captain, he will have the responsibility of leading the team from the front and making big scores.

Wicketkeeper batsman Rishabh Pant will come to bat at number five. This 28-year-old aggressive left-handed batsman is the main backbone of India’s middle order. Pant’s fast batting has the potential to turn the tide of the match at any time.

All-rounders and lower order: batting depth
World number 1 Test all-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has returned to the team. He will be India’s most important player at number 6, who has the ability to win matches with both bat and ball. His accurate spin bowling and intelligent batting will prove to be very effective for India on Sri Lankan pitches. After Nitish Kumar Reddy and Washington Sundar are out with injuries, it is considered certain that Dhruv Jurel will be included in the playing XI. Jurel recently scored a century and a half-century in three innings while playing for ‘India A’ in Sri Lanka. His form will strengthen the lower order of the team.

Spin Department: The Magic of Spin
The role of spinners is most important on Sri Lankan pitches. In such a situation, India can take the field with three main spinners. Left-arm spinner Manav Suthar made his Test debut against Afghanistan in June 2026, where he took 7 wickets (6+1) and also scored 28 runs. Considering his performance, he can be retained in the playing eleven.

The spin attack will be led by experienced chinaman bowler Kuldeep Yadav. Kuldeep has always proved himself in the limited opportunities he got and his mysterious balls can become a big puzzle for the Sri Lankan batsmen.

Fast bowling: Bumrah and Siraj pair
The fast bowling attack will be led by world number 1 Test bowler Jasprit Bumrah, provided he is fully fit. Bumrah played his last Test match against South Africa in November 2025 and his return will provide tremendous strength to the Indian bowling.

Mohammad Siraj will be another specialist fast bowler to support him. Siraj is currently India’s most successful and highest wicket-taker bowler in the 2025-27 World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. His art of achieving reverse swing with both new and old balls can prove to be decisive for India in Sri Lanka.