IND vs SL: Tanush Kotian, Harsh Dubey to accompany Indian team to Sri Lanka for two-match Test series; here's why
India will play two Tests in Sri Lanka. The first Test starts from August 15 in Galle, followed by the second in Colombo from August 23. Before that, India will play a three-day warm-up match in Colombo starting on August 7.
Mumbai stalwart Tanush Kotian and Vidarbha's Harsh Dubey are set to accompany the Indian team on their tour for Sri Lanka for the two-match Test series, that starts on August 15 in Galle. The Test matches are a part of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2025-27 cycle. The second game starts on August 23 in Colombo.
Kotian, who has been a star performer for Mumbai in domestic circuit, had earlier received a call-up to the Indian team for the fifth Test against Australia in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in 2024. However, the off-spinner is yet to make his India debut in the longest format of the game.
Dubey was a part of the India A squad that played Sri Lanka A in two unofficial Tests recently. The duo are being taken to Sri Lanka as net bowlers to help the batters prepare against spin, reported Cricbuzz. They will join the likes of Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Manav Suthar and Saransh Jain, who all are a part of the squad. Suthar and Jain received maiden call-ups.
Meanwhile, most members of the Indian team assembled in Mumbai on Monday. The Indian contingent will fly out for Sri Lanka on Tuesday evening on a charter flight. However, there is no clarity on Sai Sudharsan's travel plans as he was included in the squad to subject to his fitness clearance.
If not Tuesday, Sudharsan might travel to Sri Lanka later this week, provided the Tamil Nadu batter is declared fit to play, Before the Test series, India will play a three-day warm-up game against Sri Lanka A from August 7.
Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul's special training
Meanwhile, Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul were spotted facing the spinners in Mumbai on Mumbai ahead of the series. While the city wore a overcast look and experienced intermittent rain, the two batters chose to train at Wings Sports Centre in Bandra West, which is managed by former India cricketer Jatin Paranjape.
Private net sessions ahead of overseas tours aren't unusual. But what caught everyone's eye is their focus on spin solely for the past few days. Kotian was bowling to the duo during the net sessions. The Test matches in Sri Lanka are expected to be dominated by spinners. The Jaiswal and Rahul duo faced all type of spinners - left-arm spinners, leg-spinners and off-spinners.
"They've been coming here regularly over the past few days. Jaiswal was here two days ago, KL came yesterday, and today they trained together," Paranjape told Cricbuzz. “It's not surprising that they were practising against spin, given the conditions they expect to encounter in the series.”