India's finger spinners Tanush Kotian, Harsh Dubey and leg-spinners Vipraj Nigam and Shivang Kumar will travel with the squad for Test series against Sri Lanka. Kotian was seen bowling to India openers KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal in the nets in Mumbai on August 3, a day ahead of their departure for Sri Lanka. He was among a few spinners against whom the openers geared up for the spin challenge.
"I train regularly at Jatin Sir's academy. It's one of the few facilities where we can practise during the monsoon. The wicket there offers plenty of turn, and Yashasvi and KL have been training with us over the past few days," Kotian told Cricbuzz.
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Kotian is yet to make his Test debut. He had received his maiden call-up during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024-25 when Ravichandran Ashwin announced his retirement after the Gabba Test. He wasn’t picked by the Ajit Agarkar-led selection committee as Washington Sundar’s replacement as they put their trust in veteran spin-bowling all-rounder Saransh Jain.
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Dubey was part of the squad for one-off Test against Afghanistan. The left-arm spinner made his ODI debut against Afghanistan, picking four wickets including a three-fer on debut. He was part of India A tour of Sri Lanka, where he scored 59 runs and picked three wickets in a game.
Nigam has been part of the India A setup recently as well. In the tri-series against Afghanistan A and Sri Lanka A, he claimed seven wickets from five games. He scored 116 runs as well, featuring a gritty half-century against Sri Lanka A. The Delhi Capitals (DC) all-rounder is yet to receive his maiden India call-up.
Shivang was one of the net bowlers before the one-off Afghanistan Test as well. The left-arm wrist spinner impressed with his performances for Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) in the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026. He is yet to make his India A debut.
Sudharsan yet to get green light
Meanwhile, Sudharsan is yet to get the fitness clearance. He is yet to join the squad. It will be interesting to see whether he plays in the three-day practice game in Colombo which starts on August 7. If Sudharsan isn’t fit, Devdutt Padikkal is likely to get the nod.
Nabi replaces Bumrah
Earlier, on August 3, BCCI announced Auqib Nabi as replacement for an injured Jasprit Bumrah. The Jammu & Kashmir pacer received his maiden India call-up and may open the bowling alongside Mohammed Siraj.
India’s squad for Sri Lanka Test series
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.