Auqib Nabi earns maiden India call-up, replaces Jasprit Bumrah in Test squad for Sri Lanka

Jammu & Kashmir seam bowler Auqib Nabi has been added to India’s Test squad for the two-match series against Sri Lanka as a replacement for Jasprit Bumrah, who has yet to recover from a persistent knee issue.

Bumrah had been ruled out of the series after the return of a knee injury that had persisted since the culmination of the T20 World Cup earlier in the year. He featured in two of the three ODI matches in England, missing the decider at Lord’s. Initially added to the squad for the side heading to Sri Lanka, an assessment was conducted at the BCCI Centre of Excellence, deeming the pace spearhead yet to be ready for a return to competitive cricket.

Nabi has been making waves in the domestic circuit over the past few years. The last two seasons for the Ranji Trophy have seen him pick up a total of 104 wickets, taking 44 in 2024-25, before his 60 wickets in 2025-26 played a vital role in taking Jammu & Kashmir to their maiden Ranji Trophy title. Nabi was also named Player of the Tournament, becoming the third seamer and seventh bowler overall to finish with more than 60 wickets in a single Ranji Trophy season.

Nabi made his debut for India A in the recently concluded series against Sri Lanka A, picking up six wickets in the two four-day games played. The seamer has a stellar record in first-class cricket, picking up 162 wickets in 43 games, at a brilliant average of 18.63.

The two-match Test series will commence on August 15, with the first Test set to be played at the Galle International Stadium. The second Test will start on August 23 at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo.

Updated India squad for the Test series against Sri Lanka:

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

*Subject to fitness clearance