Sri Lanka announces squad for first Test against India: Pathum Nissanka, Kusal Mendis ruled out due to injuries

Sri Lanka announced its squad for the first Test against India on Wednesday, three days prior to the start of the contest.

Updated on: Aug 12, 2026, 16:10:21 IST

Written by Vishesh Roy

Prefer HTon Google

Share via

Copy link

Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) finally announced the senior men's squad for the upcoming first Test against India, beginning Saturday, August 15, in Galle. The hosts have received two body blows before the start of the series, as both experienced batters, Kusal Mendis and Pathum Nissanka, have been ruled out of the opening Test of the two-match series due to injuries. Dhananjaya de Silva will lead the side while Kamindu Mendis will serve as his deputy.

Sri Lanka announced its squad for the first Test against India on Wednesday. (AFP)

In the absence of Kusal Mendis, Sri Lanka have finally recalled 33-year-old experienced batter Niroshan Dickwella. This is the first time in three years that the left-handed batter has earned a national team call-up. Dickwella had last featured for Sri Lanka in the format against New Zealand in 2023.

Ramesh Mendis and Prabath Jayasuriya are the frontline spin options alongside Keshara Nuwantha. The third one also played in the warm-up match against India recently, in which SLC XI lost by six wickets. In the practice game, he picked up three wickets, and also returned with a five-wicket haul in the game against India A in Galle last month.

There are a total of five pacers in Sri Lanka's squad, including two left-arm quicks in the form of Vishwa Fernando and Dilshan Madushanka.

What about India's squad?

Speaking of India, the visitors have been hampered by injuries with Jasprit Bumrah, Sai Sudharsan, Nitish Reddy and Harshit Rana all ruled out. Washington Sundar will also miss the first Test against Sri Lanka, and it's unlikely that he will recover in time for the second Test.

The upcoming Tests against Sri Lanka are very important for India. The side must win seven of their remaining nine matches to have any chance of reaching Oval for the World Test Championship (WTC) final next year.

India began the Sri Lanka tour with a six-wicket win in the three-day warm-up game, where Devdutt Padikkal sealed his spot at No.3 with an unbeaten century in the first innings.

Sri Lanka squad for first Test: Dhananjaya de Silva (c), Kamindu Mendis (vc), Lahiru Udara, Nishan Madushka, Dinesh Chandimal, Pasindu Sooriyabandara, Sonal Dinusha, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Ramesh Mendis, Prabath Jayasuriya, Keshara Nuwantha, Milan Rathnayake, Asitha Fernando, Lahiru Kumara, Vishwa Fernando, and Dilshan Madushanka.

India squad: Shubman Gill (c), KL Rahul (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant (wk), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Manav Suthar, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Devdutt Padikkal, Saransh Jain, Auqib Nabi, Sarfaraz Khan.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Vishesh Roy
Vishesh Roy is a sports journalist with a strong focus on cricket. He began his career at Asian News International (ANI), where he covered a range of high-profile events, including the India Open, Legends Cricket League, the England–India Test series in Ahmedabad in 2021, and the inauguration of the Narendra Modi Stadium. During his tenure at ANI, he also reported extensively on domestic cricket, covering several Ranji Trophy and Vijay Hazare Trophy matches across the country. While cricket remains his primary beat, Vishesh has also reported on tennis, football and WWE. After a stint of over three years at ANI, Vishesh moved to NDTV, where he gained hands-on experience in digital-first journalism, with a particular emphasis on live blogs and real-time news reporting. He joined Hindustan Times in October 2024 and quickly established himself with a series of exclusive interviews and source-driven stories. Ahead of the IPL 2025 auction, Hindustan Times was the first to report that the two-day event would be held in Saudi Arabia. In the early months of his tenure, Vishesh secured interviews with leading cricketers, including Pat Cummins, Shreyas Iyer, Nitish Kumar Reddy and Rashid Latif. He has also closely tracked the rise of emerging talents such as Vaibhav Suryavanshi and Priyansh Arya by speaking to their current and childhood coaches. His background in on-field reporting has helped Hindustan Times Digital break exclusive stories on major developments, including Virat Kohli’s return to the Ranji and Vijay Hazare Trophy, IPL scheduling, and the T20 World Cup controversy involving Bangladesh and Pakistan.Read More

Get live cricket scores, match updates, schedules, results and ICC rankings. Follow the latest news, statistics and performances of top teams and players on Hindustan Times.