India beat Afghanistan by an innings and 300 runs (Photo: IANS)

Indian selectors announced the 15-member squad for the upcoming two-Test series against Sri Lanka on Tuesday morning, with three players who featured in the squad against Afghanistan left out this time. Washington Sundar, Harsh Dubey and Nitish Kumar Reddy have all been dropped. Madhya Pradesh's Saransh Jain has earned his maiden call-up to the Test side. The opening match of the series will be played in Galle from 15 August, with the second Test to follow in Colombo.

Team India's squad for the Sri Lanka Tests

Shubman Gill (captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Sai Sudharsan, Dhruv Jurel (wicketkeeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Manav Suthar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Devdutt Padikkal and Saransh Jain.

While Jasprit Bumrah and Sai Sudharsan have both been named in the squad, their participation remains uncertain, with the pair needing clearance from the BCCI's Centre of Excellence before they can feature in the Tests. Ahead of the two-match series, the Indian team will also play a four-day practice match in Colombo, beginning 7 August.

The BCCI, while announcing the squad, confirmed that Sundar would not be available for selection in the playing XI for the first Test. Madhya Pradesh's mystery spinner Saransh Jain could now be handed a debut. Jain has picked up 118 first-class wickets and scored more than 2,000 runs in his career. He impressed selectors with a six-wicket haul in the recent unofficial second Test against Sri Lanka A.

India languishing in WTC Points Table

India have played nine matches in this World Test Championship cycle, winning four of them. Shubman Gill and company currently sit fifth in the standings with a win percentage of 48.15. After the Sri Lanka series, India will play a two-Test series against New Zealand, followed by a five-match series against Australia in January-February next year. Team India still have a chance of reaching the final, provided they perform well in their remaining fixtures.