India will aim to win the two-Test series in Sri Lanka after winning the first game in Galle by a dominating 165 runs. The second Test between Sri Lanka and India will be played from August 23 onwards at the SSC Ground in Colombo. Both of these Tests are part of the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC 2027) cycle.
However, there will be a discussion on one spot in the Indian playing XI, and that will be the third spinner spot. Manav Suthar and Ravindra Jadeja didn’t nail their jobs perfectly, but Kuldeep Yadav had a poor game. This begs the question of whether Saransh Jain should be included in the Indian XI for the Colombo Test, and we provide three solid reasons why he should be.
Here are 3 reasons why Saransh Jain should play the second SL vs IND Test:
3. India need variety in their spin attack.
The Indian team fielded an all-left-handed spin attack in the Galle Test. Manav Suthar and Ravindra Jadeja were the proper left-arm finger spinners, while Kuldeep Yadav was bought in as a left-arm wrist spinner to take the ball away from left-handers. However, he failed to get the ball to spin away and struggled with his bowling speed as well. Saransh Jain, being a right-arm finger spinner, will be able to do that easily and is also apt at varying his bowling speeds as well.
2. Abundance of left-handers in Sri Lanka batting
Kuldeep Yadav was included as the counter for the plethora of left-arm batters in the Sri Lankan lineup, and he managed only one wicket, that of Kamindu Mendis, in the first innings. His poor form led to Sri Lankan batters avoiding him easily, and Suthar and Jadeja did the majority of the bowling. Saransh Jain solves this problem easily, as he has a good record against left-arm batters in domestic cricket and will provide a challenge to them in Colombo, where the pitch aids spinners more than Galle.
1. Gives batting depth
Saransh Jain is a better batter than Kuldeep Yadav. He is more than capable of handling himself with the willow and contributing more runs to the Indian total. He can hang there with an established batter and is a much better prospect in the Indian XI than Kuldeep, who didn’t bowl too much in Galle due to the Kookaburra ball, which goes soft early.
