Team India will return to the grind of Test cricket when they take on Sri Lanka in the first Test match, which begins on Saturday. It is a key game for Shubman Gill’s side as they need to win the two-match series to keep their WTC final hopes alive.

Sarfaraz Khan has been recalled to the side after Sai Sudharsan was ruled out of the series due to injury. The 28-year-old will be competing for a spot in the playing XI with Dhruv Jurelwho played the three-day warm-up game against Sri Lanka Cricket XI recently.

Interestingly, both players made their India debut in the same game against England in Rajkot during the 2024 series. Khan scored 62 and 68 on his debut, while Dhruv posted 46 runs from 104 balls. Both players will be keenly looked at for opportunities, considering the tracks in Sri Lanka offer a lot of turn and bounce for the spinners.

But on a head-to-head basis, how have the two batters fared against spin bowlers? Jurel has become a mainstay in the Indian Test side. On the other hand, the 28-year-old batter from Mumbai is seeking a return to the side to make his spot permanent. The batter is known to be a better player of spin bowling and can use the sweep and reverse sweep with equal ease.

Sarfaraz Khan vs Dhruv Jurel against spinners

Dhruv Jurel has played 16 innings in Test cricket and has been dismissed eight times by spinners. This means he has a dismissal rate of 50% against spin bowlers. The Rajasthan Royals batter has been undone by Simon Harmer thrice, while he has also fallen to Shoaib Bashir once.

This shows that he has a problem against off-spinners, which was also seen in the IND vs SLC XI practice game where he was sent back to the hut by Ramesh Mendis in the first innings. He has also fallen once to Roston Chasetaking his dismissals against off-spin bowlers in Test cricket to four, while falling to left-arm spinners twice and once to right-arm leg-spin of Rehan Ahmed in 2024.

Meanwhile, Sarfaraz has batted in 11 innings in Test cricket and has fallen to spinners on seven occasions. The batter faces his biggest threat against left-arm spinners. Chennai Super Kings star was dismissed twice by Mitchell Santner and Ajaz Patel during the IND vs NZ series in 2024. He also fell to Tom Hartley in the home series against England the same year.

In this scenario, Prabath Jayasuriya could be the most potent weapon against the young India batter. If the Lankans decide to operate with an off-spin bowler, then it is to be noted that Sarfaraz has also twice fallen to English off-spinner Shoaib.

Who gets the call for the first Test?

Jurel played the practice game against SLC XI and was out for 1 in the first innings while he scored 17 in the second essay. The wicketkeeper- batter also did well in the India A  vs Sri Lanka A series with the bat.

Sarfaraz’s last game was nearly four months ago for CSK against the Gujarat Titans, where he scored a duck. But the selectors could give Sarfaraz a spot in the playing XI based on his ability to take on the spinners with the wide variety of strokes he possesses. The team management should also consider going in with one wicketkeeper, Rishabh Pant.