Auqib Nabi has received maiden India call-up as he replaces ace fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah for the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka. Bumrah has been ruled out of the series after he suffered a knee injury on the England tour.

The gun pacer played the first two ODIs against England but was ruled out of the final game due to injury. Bumrah has now failed to recover in time for the series.

On the other hand, despite having a splendid run in the Ranji Trophy in the previous season, Auqib Nabi Dar was also excluded from the one-off Test match against Afghanistan. Furthermore, he was not included in the initial squad for the Sri Lanka series.

The fast bowler led Jammu and Kashmir to glory for the first time in the domestic tournament’s history. Nabi scalped 60 wickets in 10 matches of the 2025-26 season at a stunning average of 12.57, including seven five-wicket hauls.

Meanwhile, Nabi was recently part of the India A squad for the two unofficial Test matches against Sri Lanka A. The right-arm pacer scalped six wickets in four innings at an average of 25.33.

Earlier, former Indian players like Irfan Pathan and Wasim Jaffer had questioned Auqib Nabi’s absence from the squad. 

Now, Nabi will look to grab his opportunity with both hands and deliver the goods for the national team.

The first Test match between India and Sri Lanka will be played at Galle from August 15 onwards.

India’s updated squad for Sri Lanka Tests: Shubman Gill (captain), KL Rahul (vice-captain), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant, Sai Sudharsan*, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Manav Suthar, Auqib Nabi Dar, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Devdutt Padikkal, Saransh Jain