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After the toss of the India vs Sri Lanka Test match in Colombo, the BCCI, through an official press release on social media platforms, informed that the experienced spinner is not available for the Colombo Test match because of viral illness.
BCCI explains why Kuldeep Yadav is not playing in the India vs Sri Lanka 2nd Test match in Colombo
But he remains with the team in Sri Lanka and could be on the ground as a concussion substitute if required during the match.
"Kuldeep Yadav has not fully recovered from his viral illness. He was unavailable for selection in the Playing XI for the second Test against Sri Lanka. However, he can take the field as a concussion substitute if required," according to the official press release.
UPDATE: Mr Kuldeep Yadav has not fully recovered from his viral illness.
— BCCI (@BCCI) August 23, 2026
He was unavailable for selection in the Playing XI for the second Test against Sri Lanka.
However, he can take the field as a concussion substitute, if required. #TeamIndia | #SLvIND
Kuldeep Yadav had some infections: Shubman Gill
At the toss, India captain Shubman Gill informed that Kuldeep Yadav had some infections; that's why he is out of the match. In place of Kuldeep, the Men in Blue named 33-year-old Saransh Jain as his replacement.
"Kuldeep, unfortunately, had some infections, so he misses out, and Saransh makes his debut for India," Shubman Gill informed.
According to stats, Kuldeep Yadav has played so far for India in 19 Test matches in 13 different series, including the one-off Test against Afghanistan earlier this season. In nineteen Tests, the chinmana spinner has claimed 80 wickets. In the previous match in Galle, where Manav Suthar claimed 10 wickets, Kuldeep got only one.
The illness of the veteran spinner opened the doors for Saranash Jain to make his debut in the longest format of the game for the national side. He made his debut as the oldest spinner to make his debut for India in Tests in the 21st century.
Saransh Jain claims a rare record as an Indian cricketer
Interestingly, Saransh Jain was named in a Test match playing XI before featuring in an Indian Premier League (IPL) match, which is rare. Before the spinner, Morali Vijay and Mohammed Shami were the only two players who made their India debut before playing an IPL match.
Indian players making their international debut before IPL debut;
Murali Vijay (Test - India vs Australia, Nagpur, 2008)
Mohammed Shami (ODI - India vs Pakistan, Delhi, 2013)
Saransh Jain (Test - India vs Sri Lanka, Colombo, 2026)
In the previous Test of the ongoing two-match series, India defeated Sri Lanka by 165-runs with Devdutt Padikkal as Player of the Match. Padikkal scored 44 runs in the second innings to go with his first innings' 167. KL Rahul also performed well with the bat, scoring 82 runs in the first innings.
