India turn to Saransh Jain for Sri Lanka Tests

MUMBAI: Showing that age is no bar for selection, India’s national selection committee, led by former pacer Ajit Agarkar, on Tuesday handed a maiden call-up to Madhya Pradesh’s 33-year-old offspinning allrounder Saransh Jain for the two-Test series in Sri Lanka in August.

As TOI reported on Monday (July 27), fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah and No. 3 batter Sai Sudharsan have been picked subject to fitness clearance from the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru. Bumrah has been advised rest until July 30, after which he will report to the CoE.

Ravindra Jadeja, who was rested along with Bumrah for the oneoff Test against Afghanistan and had been suffering from tennis elbow, has expectedly returned to the squad. Jadeja has been training in Rajkot in recent days, indicating that he had been asked to be ready for the Sri Lanka tour.

Washington Sundar’s unavailability for the first Test due to the hamstring injury he sustained during the ODI series in England opened the door for Jain, the only new face in the squad.

The presence of several lefthanders in Sri Lanka’s batting line-up also appears to have prompted the selectors to bring in the seasoned off-spinner. The BCCI also did not reveal the nature of Sudharsan’s injury. The left-hander was in excellent form on the recent India ‘A’ tour of Sri Lanka, scoring centuries in both four-day games.

Should Sudharsan fail to clear his fitness test, Karnataka lefthander Devdutt Padikkal could slot in at No. 3. Left-arm spinner Manav Suthar, who took seven wickets on Test debut against Afghanistan, has retained his place 132706044 India squad for Sri Lanka Tests:

Shubman Gill (capt), KL Rahul (vicecapt), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sai Sudharsan*, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Manav Suthar, Jasprit Bumrah*, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Devdutt Padikkal, Saransh Jain. *Subject to fitness clearance