Auqib Nabi has broken his silence for the first time since getting his maiden India call-up for the Test series against Sri Lanka. Speaking to Saransh Jain in Galle, Nabi revealed that he was en route to Bengaluru when he received the call. Nabi, the right-arm pacer from Jammu and Kashmir, was on the way to join a camp at the BCCI’s Centre of Excellence. “I was at the airport. We had to go to a camp in CoE and I was about to board a flight to Bangalore. I got a call asking where I was. I told them that I was going to Bangalore and I was at the airport. They told me that I didn’t have to go there; I had to come to Sri Lanka and that I was selected,” Nabi revealed.

“At first, I couldn’t believe it. It was unexpected because the squad was already out. I was ready to work hard. I was going to the camp,” he added.

Nabi missed out on making it to the initial squad. He replaced Jasprit Bumrah after the senior pacer was ruled out due to an injury. Nabi shone in back-to-back Ranji Trophy seasons to force his way into the national team.

Nabi topped the wicket-taking charts in the 2025-26 season and finished with 60 wickets in 10 matches as Jammu and Kashmir went on to win the trophy for the first time. He scalped 44 wickets in the 2024-25 season.

Saransh Jain also earned his maiden call-up for the SL tour. The spin-bowling all-rounder was part of the India A squad for the Sri Lanka tour. Saransh revealed that he was confident of playing for India after years of hard work in domestic cricket.

“You have to have patience in Test cricket and if you want to play Test cricket for India, you have to have patience in that too. I made my debut at Ranji Trophy in 2014-15. It’s been a long journey. There was a lot of hard work and sacrifices. But I had the belief that one day, I will definitely play for India and for this achievement, my family has a big role to play in it. My dad, who is a Ranji Trophy player, told me the same thing. You just have to have patience, things will automatically come to you,” Saransh said.

The first Test of the series will be played in Galle from August 15 to 19. Colombo will host the second Test match from August 23 to 27.