Colombo: Indian batters will be keen to fine-tune their skills against spin during a three-day warm-up match against a local Sri Lanka XI at the Nondescripts Cricket Club here on Friday as they gear up for a two-match Test series against the Islanders next week.
Quality spin proved to be India’s Achilles Heel against New Zealand and South Africa at home recently, and the challenge will not be any different against Sri Lanka.
The Islanders have a capable unit of tweakers, particularly in home conditions, and thus this warm-up match assumes massive importance for Indian batters ahead of the first Test at Galle on August 15.
Some frontline batters like skipper Shubman Gill, KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal had started preparations against spin individually at their home facilities before boarding the flight to Colombo, but that cannot really supplant an outing on a Sri Lankan pitch.
The three-day match will give them valuable first-hand idea about local conditions, and it is important because many of them are playing the red-ball format for the first time on these shores.
India’s last Test series in Sri Lanka was in 2017, and the team composition has undergone vast changes in the last decade.
In fact, only Rahul, Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja in this squad have appeared in Test matches in Sri Lanka.
In the absence of an injured Jasprit Bumrah, pacer Mohammed Siraj will be India’s bowling lead with support coming from Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Manav Suthar and Saransh Jain.
This largely inexperienced bowling lineup, except Siraj and Kuldeep, will be eager to bowl on a Lankan pitch once again.
Both Brar and Jain had very good outings for India A against Sri Lanka A last month at Galle, and they will be raring to have another round of practice under their belt.
Head Coach Gautam Gambhir emphasised on this point.
“We know what is in front of us. We can do volume, we can push our limits, we can tick all the boxes and come 15th morning whether we are batting first or bowling first we will be absolutely ready with every answer to every question thrown at us.
“So make sure to tick all the boxes from now on,” Gambhir exhorted his wards in a video posted by BCCI.
However, intermittent rain is predicted to lash the city from Friday and that may jeopardise India’s designs.
Meanwhile, Sri Lanka also announced a strong SLC XI that contained some frontrunners to make it to the Test squad.
Led by Sonal Dinusha, who has played three Tests for SL, the squad features pacers Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Kumara and spinners Isitha Wijesundara and Ramesh Mendis.
Teams (from)
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India: Shubman Gill (Captain), KL Rahul (Vice-Captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant (WK), Sai Sudharsan*, Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Manav Suthar, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Devdutt Padikkal, Saransh Jain, Auqib Nabi.
SLC XI: Nishan Madushka, Ravindu Rashantha, Pasindu Sooriyabandara, Pavan Rathnayake, Ahan Wickramasinghe, Sonal Dinusha (Captain), Anjala Bandara (wk), Nipun Dananjaya, Lahiru Kumara, Vishwa Fernando, Asanka Manoj, Isitha Wijesundara, Ramesh Mendis, Kesara Nuwantha, Dilum Sudeera.
Match starts at 10am.
