The men’s senior selection committee, headed by Ajit Agarkar, has announced the 15-member squad for the two-Test series against Sri Lanka, starting on August 15 in Galle. Ravindra Jadeja, who was rested for the Afghanistan Test, returns to the squad, while off-spinner Saransh Jain gets his first call-up while Washington Sundar remains unavailable for the first Test.Injury concerns persist, with Sai Sudharsan and Jasprit Bumrah selected pending fitness clearance from the BCCI: CoE. Otherwise, the squad is largely on the expected lines, with the core batting group retained. The seam attack shows the usual names. Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Bumrah and Gurnoor Brar, who retained his place after a strong performance against Sri Lanka A.For the spin department, Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav are expected to shoulder the responsibility along with Manav Suthar and Saransh Jain. Suthar impressed against Afghanistan, while Jain was selected as the specialist off-spinner in Sundar’s absence.The 33-year-old has played 54 First-Class matches and is on the selectors’ radar. They gave him a chance in India during the recent tour of Sri Lanka. He took six wickets and an unbeaten 70 in the last match.TimesofIndia.com has learned that the selectors do not want to take any health-related risks for the series, and Sudharsan and Bumrah will only feature if they clear all fitness benchmarks in the CoE. It is understood that Bumrah should be fit for the opening Test in Galle, but even with a one percent doubt, the think tank will not rush a half-fit player back to the playing XI.India are expected to reach Sri Lanka early in the first week of August before gearing up for a four-day warm-up fixture in Colombo, starting on August 7.India squad for Tests 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, Jasprit Bumrah*, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Devdutt Padikkal, Saransh Jain.Note:
- The availability of Sai Sudharsan and Jasprit Bumrah will be subject to fitness clearance from the BCCI CoE.
- Washington Sundar was not available for selection for the first Test.