Lanka Tests: Sarfaraz, still an outsider to make the playing XI ahead of Jurel

The recall of Sarfaraz Khan for the two-Test series in Sri Lanka on Sunday evening gave one a feeling of vindication that the Mumbai batter has got his due after being left in the cold for one and-a-half years. A leaner and bubbly Sarfaraz has joined the squad in Colombo ahead of the first Test in Galle from Saturday (15^th August), though doubts persist as to whether he can make it to the playing XI.

For those who have been tracking the curious case of Sarfaraz ever since his impressive Test debut against England at home in 2024, there is no doubt that he would always have to walk the extra mile to get a look-in – unless last minute injuries force the team management’s hand. The stars aligned for the 28-year-old this time, albeit due to the unfortunate toe injury of Sai Sudarshan that Sarfaraz was sent the SoS as a back-up middle order batter known to be a proficient player of spin.

Interestingly, when Sai failed to meet the fitness deadline for the series, a media report had projected Ruturaj Gaikwad as the likely alternative. However, the Maharashtra batter had a poor run in the India A series with scores of 22, one and 13—which meant the selectors had to look beyond the A squad for a replacement. There was another option on the table in young Shaikh Rashid, the 21-year-old who has been on the selection committee’s radar for some time. He was also part of the India A squad and scored 45, 63 and 20 in his three innings.

 However, with Sri Lanka certain to offer spin-friendly conditions, Sarfaraz—who plays with soft hands and is good at rotating the strike—was finally brought back into the equation. It was somewhat impossible to ignore Sarfaraz’s first class average of 64.73 from 62 matches—not to speak of the fact that he hammered an unbeaten 277—his fifth first-class double century in the 2025-26 Ranji season. He finished as Mumbai’s third highest run-scorer in the 2025 season, scoring 429 runs in seven matches at an average of 53.62.

A six-wicket win against Sri Lanka XI in the three-day tour game may have given vital clues to Gambhir and Gill about the playing XI—and chances of Sarfaraz making it there depends on whether the team management prefer him ahead of Dhruv Jurel as a number five or six. If India play six batters, then the potential line-up could be: KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal, Gill, Rishabh Pant and Jurel/Sarfaraz.

However, there is also a school of thought which feels given that veteran Ravindra Jadeja and newcomer Saransh Jain are batters in their own right, they may even go with a less batter and stock up all the spin options with Kuldeep Yadav and Manav Suthar also in the mix. While Pant is a certainty to be the keeper-batter, Jurel was among some runs in the second innings of the three-day tour game and had been a part of the dressing room for sometime.

An educated guess, hence, is Sarfaraz remains bit of an outsider in the scheme of things—having last played a Test versus the Kiwis at home in 2024. So is Aquib Nabi, a late replacement for a yet-to-be fit Jasprit Bumrah as senior pro Mohammed Siraj and Prasiddh Krishna are likely to form the first choice, two-man pace attack.