India completed a six-wicket win over the Sri Lanka Cricket XI on Sunday in their three-day practice match in Colombo.
The attention will now turn to the first Test, that begins on Saturday, with India needing a win in order to stay in the hunt for the World Test Championship Final next year.
The visiting side will be buoyed by the return of Shubman Gill, who overcame a finger injury and batted on the final day of the practice game.
Head coach Gautam Gambhir and the team management emphasized on giving batting time to its spin-bowling all-rounders, Saransh Jain, Manav Suthar and Ravindra Jadeja. This could mean the trio all starts the first Test in Galle.
Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna are likely to be the two pacers in the lineup while Kuldeep Yadav completes the bowling unit. The only toss-up remains around the selection of the wicket-keeper, with both Rishabh Pant and Dhruv Jurel falling tamely in the first innings and getting a few runs under their belt in the second during the practice game.
India predicted XI for first Test against Sri Lanka
- 1. Yashasvi Jaiswal
- 2. KL Rahul
- 3. Devdutt Padikkal
- 4. Shubman Gill (c)
- 5. Rishabh Pant (wk)
- 6. Ravindra Jadeja
- 7. Manav Suthar
- 8. Kuldeep Yadav
- 9. Saransh Jain
- 10. Prasidh Krishna
- 11. Mohammed Siraj
Published on Aug 09, 2026
