Star Indian batter Sarfaraz Khan has been recalled by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) as he has been selected to replace injured Sai Sudharsan in the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka. During India A’s tour of Sri Lanka in July, Sudharsan sustained a stress fracture in his toe. Since then, he has been receiving treatment at the Center of Excellence (CoE) in Bengaluru. He has not been able to heal in time for the series, despite earlier expectations to the contrary.

“Sai Sudharsan has been ruled out of the Test series against Sri Lanka,” BCCI said in a statement. “The left-handed batter, who has been at the BCCI Centre of Excellence (COE) in Bengaluru, has made significant progress in his recovery from the right toe stress reaction and is recovering well. The BCCI Medical Team is closely monitoring his progress.”

“The Men’s Selection Committee has named Sarfaraz Khan as a replacement for Sai Sudharsan for the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka. He will link up with the Indian squad in Colombo before the team travels to Galle for the first Test match, starting August 15, 2026,” it added.

Sarfaraz Khan posted a few photos of himself wearing Team India’s travel jersey on social media immediately upon his selection. He also had his father seated beside him in one of the pictures. The post is going viral across the social media now.

His last match for India was the terrible three-Test home whitewash against New Zealand in 2024. He scored his first Test century in the second game, making him one of the series’ finest players. After that, though he was unable to secure a spot in the squad and ended up warming the bench during the five-Test series against Australia in December and January of 2025.

For several years now, the 28-year-old has been among India’s best players in domestic cricket. In 92 First-Class innings, he has amassed 5114 runs at an average of 64.73, with 17 hundreds and 16 fifties. He has lost several kilograms over the past few months as a result of a strict workout regimen. Sarfaraz’s demonstrated abilities against spin must have helped the BCCI selectors, even though players like Sheikh Rasheed were also in the running for the series.