The fast bowler Auqib Nabi has been handed his maiden call-up for India for the Sri Lanka tests, replacing Jasprit Bumrah, who was ruled out after failing to recover fully from the left-knee injury he sustained during the ODI series against England.

The 29-year old came into the spotlight after two outstanding seasons in the Ranji Trophy, claiming 104 wickets. He made a stunning campaign in the 2025-26 season, taking 60 wickets and playing a crucial role in Jammu & Kashmir’s maiden Ranji Trophy title win.

Nabi also made a brilliant performance for the India A squad for the recent tour of Sri Lanka.

He picked six wickets in the two four-day matches against Sri Lanka A, including 4/58 in the first innings of the opening game.

On the other hand, Jasprit Bumrah will continue to miss the international fixtures after the injury he sustained second ODI against England last month.

The veteran pacer was included in the India’s squad for the Sri Lanka tests, but was subjected to clearing a fitness assessment at the BCCI’s CoE in Bengaluru.

However, he failed to recover on time and Bumrah’s return to test cricket after his workload had been managed following the back injury he suffered during 2024-25 Border Gavaskar Trophy in Australia.

He featured in only three tests in England last year and was rested for the one-off test against Afghanistan earlier this year.

India will be aiming for a clean sweep in the upcoming series to keep their WTC final qualification hopes alive.

Currently India is in fifth position while Sri Lanka is in the 6th position of the WTC 2025-27 points table.

With India cricket team is set to arrive in Sri Lanka on August 04, they will be having a preparation camp ahead of the two match test series.

The first match of the test series is set to begin on August 15 at Galle International Stadium, Galle.

India Updated squad for Sri Lanka tests: Shubman Gill (c), KL Rahul (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sai Sudharsan*, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Manav Suthar, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Devdutt Padikkal, Saransh Jain, Auqib Nabi