IND vs Sri Lanka XI, Warm-Up Match: India captain Shubman Gill missed the three-day warm-up match against Sri Lanka XI after sustaining a finger injury during training.
With Gill unavailable as a precaution, KL Rahul captained the Indian side after Sri Lanka XI won the toss and elected to bat at the NCC Ground in Colombo on Friday. The BCCI later confirmed that Gill’s absence was precautionary and that the medical team would continue monitoring his recovery ahead of the two-match Test series.
Why is Shubman Gill Not Playing Against Sri Lanka XI?
Shubman Gill injured his right ring finger during India’s training session on Thursday. The India skipper was first struck on the hand while facing left-arm pacer Gurnoor Brar in the nets before later hurting the same finger during a slip-catching drill.
Although Gill resumed training after receiving treatment from the team physio and icing the finger, the Indian team management decided not to risk him in the three-day practice match. The BCCI confirmed that his absence was purely precautionary as the medical staff continues to assess his fitness before the opening Test against Sri Lanka.
KL Rahul Leads India in Warm-Up Match
With Gill rested, experienced wicketkeeper-batter KL Rahul took over the captaincy for the warm-up fixture. India named a strong playing XI featuring Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj and Prasidh Krishna as they fine-tune preparations for the upcoming Test series.
Sri Lanka XI Win Toss, Opt to Bat
Sri Lanka XI skipper Sonal Dinusha won the toss and elected to bat first in the three-day red-ball contest. The hosts fielded a balanced side featuring Nishan Madushka, Pasindu Sooriyabandara, Pavan Rathnayake, Ahan Wickramasinghe, Lahiru Kumara, Vishwa Fernando and Ramesh Mendis.
IND vs Sri Lanka XI Warm-Up Match Playing XIs
Sri Lanka XI: Nishan Madushka, Pasindu Sooriyabandara, Pavan Rathnayake, Ahan Wickramasinghe, Sonal Dinusha (c), Anjala Bandara (wk), Nipun Dhananjaya, Lahiru Kumara, Vishwa Fernando, Asanka Manoj, Isitha Wijesundera, Ramesh Mendis, Dilum Sudeera, Keshara Nuwantha, Ravindu Rasantha.
India: Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, KL Rahul (c), Rishabh Pant (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Manav Suthar, Saransh Jain, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Auqib Nabi, Gurnoor Brar.