India Add Harsh Dubey, Vipraj Nigam and Two Others as Net Bowlers for Sri Lanka Tests

Ahead of India’s two-match test series against Sri Lanka, the Indian team management has added four bowlers - Harsh Dubey, Vipraj Nigam, Tanush Kotian and Shivang Kumar as net bowlers. These players will assist team India, led by Captain Shubman Gill prepare better before the start of the first test that begins on August 15, 2026.

The Indian squad has already landed in the island nation and they will play a four-day practice match in Colombo, starting from August 7 before the start of the series. The first match of the series will begin from August 15 and it will be played at the Galle International Stadium. The second test will be held at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo from August 23.

Team India have been recently hit by a number of injury setbacks to many key players, including the premier fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah. He was initially named in the 15-member squad but now has been ruled out completely for the entire series as he has failed to recover fully from an injury to his left knee, which he picked during the recently concluded ODI series against England. Aquib Nabi has been named as his replacement.

Another player who is missing from the squad is fast bowler, Harshit Rana. He has been ruled out of the squad due to a hamstring injury. Meanwhile, all-rounder Nitish Kumar Reddy is still recovering from a quadriceps injury. One of India’s key off-spinning all-arounder, Washington Sundar will also miss out from being in action in Sri Lanka as he is nursing a hamstring injury.

The two-match series is part of the World Test Championship 2025-27 cycle. India is currently placed in 5th position in the points table with a points percentage (PCT) of 48.150