India Test Squad vs Sri Lanka: ‘Someone’s loss is someone’s gain’ is a common proverb that came to life as the Indian cricket team named a 15-man squad for the two Test matches against Sri Lanka.
All-rounder Washington Sundar was ruled out of the series in the Island nation. Forced to pick a replacement, the selection committee chaired by Ajit Agarkar picked Saransh Jain. The 33-year-old received a maiden call-up to the national side. 12 years of hard work and almost 200 wickets with more than 2,000 runs finally culminated in a national call-up for Jain.
Who is Saransh Jain? Washington Sundar’s Replacement in India Test Squad
When it comes to their style on the crease, Saransh Jain and Washington Sundar are identical. Both all-rounders bat left-handed while bowling right-arm off-spin. Jain, playing for Madhya Pradesh in domestic cricket, is seven years older than Sundar. The gritty all-rounder from central India, like Sundar, is a useful batter lower down the order with two first-class centuries to his name.
In what was his first year with the senior Madhya Pradesh team, Jain suffered a tragedy off the field. Representing a local MP cricket club in Australia, the all-rounder was unaware that his father had been diagnosed with cancer. Returning from his trip, Jain learned the bad news as his father underwent face surgery. Recalling the incident, the all-rounder in an interview with Cricinfo, revealed what his father had said: “I am fine now, son. If you just play better, I will get well sooner.”
Saransh Jain’s Domestic Career
Saransh Jain, playing for Madhya Pradesh, has enjoyed a lot of success in Red-Ball cricket. In 54 first-class matches, Jain has scored over 2,200 runs at a healthy average of 31.75. He has two centuries and 14 fifties to go with his run tally. With the ball in hand, the right-arm off-spinner has picked up 188 wickets, averaging 27.3 apiece. He has 10 four-wicket and 10 five-wicket hauls to his name in the longest format.
He was part of the India A team that played two unofficial tests in Sri Lanka in June and July. The 33-year-old picked seven wickets across four innings while scoring 75 runs in three innings, which included an unbeaten knock of 70.
During the 2025/26 Ranji Trophy season, Saransh was unarguably the most valuable player for Madhya Pradesh. During the season, he scored the most runs for the team (518 in seven matches) and picked up the second-most wickets for MP (30 in seven matches).
India Test Squad: Will Saransh Jain Replace Washington Sundar in Playing XI?
Given the conditions in Sri Lanka, India is expected to field a playing XI with three spinners. Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja will be the automatic picks. The toss-up would be between Manav Suthar and Saransh Jain. During the one-off test, Suthar was handed his test debut, which puts him in a better position to be selected in Sri Lanka as well. However, during the India A tour to Sri Lanka, Suthar was not picked, and Jain’s experience could make the call by the team management tricky.
IND vs SL: India’s Predicted Playing XI
KL Rahul, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal / Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant (wk), Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Manav Suthar, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Jasprit Bumrah / Prasidh Krishna