Sarfaraz Khan has returned to India’s Test squad after 20 months, with the Mumbai batter replacing the injured B. Sai Sudharsan for the two-Test series against Sri Lanka.

The Hindu understands that the selection committee, in consultation with the team management, picked Sarfaraz after Sai Sudharsan did not recover in time from a right big-toe stress injury. The BCCI announced Sarfaraz’s inclusion on Sunday. He is expected to link up with the Indian team in Colombo before the side travels to Galle on Tuesday.

The 28-year-old had emerged as a primary contender alongside Shaik Rasheed and Ruturaj Gaikwad. Rasheed, who has been knocking on the selectors’ door after a prolific domestic run, was considered for his ability to bat in the top-order while Ruturaj’s experience and First Class record kept him in the conversation.

Sarfaraz’s selection marks the return of a batter whose Test career had appeared to stall after his promising debut in 2024. He was conspicuously left out of India’s squad after not getting an opportunity during the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy. All of his six Test appearances came in 2024.

The Mumbai batter has continued to remain a top performer in domestic cricket, keeping himself in the selection frame despite the long hiatus at the international level. The vacancy at No. 3, created by Sai Sudharsan’s absence, may give Sarfaraz a chance to revive his Test career that began with considerable promise.

With Indian cricket in the throes of an injury crisis, the latest being Jasprit Bumrah and B. Sai Sudharsan’s absence from the upcoming tour to Sri Lanka, V.V.S. Laxman, head of BCCI’s Centre of Excellence (CoE), defended the institution’s injury-management methods and recovery protocols.

“We don’t like to use the word blame, because when you do, you’re [trying to] find a scapegoat,” Laxman told reporters at the CoE premises on Sunday. “There’s brilliant coordination between the CoE, the team management and the SSM (Sports Science & Medicine) staff.”

There has been a worrying trend of players being declared fit only to pick up a new injury within a short period of time. Laxman stressed that this was not a cause for concern even as he clarified that the “CoE was not a rehab centre” and that it had a “bigger mandate”.

“When someone is playing at the elite level, you’re supposed to give more than 100%,” Laxman said. “Injuries are bound to happen. If you’re thinking about not getting injured, you’re not playing to the best of your ability. Monitoring is very, very critical, and I’ve got no doubt that Adrian Le Roux (S&C coach, Indian team) and others are doing that,” the 51-year-old added.

Both Bumrah and Sai Sudharsan were named conditionally in the squad for the two Tests against Sri Lanka before failing to obtain fitness clearances. Asked if it would be prudent to avoid players who are still undergoing rehabilitation, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia replied in the negative.

“We have our selection meetings at least three to four weeks before the team departs,” Saikia said. “We don’t reject because by the time the player will have to travel or play, he may be totally fit. It’s a human body, not a machine. It may take 14 days or 28 days.”

The CoE has been without a Head of Sports Science since Nitin Patel’s exit in March 2025. Saikia attributed this to an “acute shortage of right candidates” and Laxman stated that there will be no unseemly haste in the appointment process, for quality was paramount.

Andrew Leipus, who had had successful tenures with the Indian National team and the erstwhile National Cricket Academy, was the BCCI’s first choice to replace Nitin, but he pulled out.

“Andrew had almost agreed but then backed out,” Laxman said. “The next interview process was extensive, and the first candidate was from Australia, but he did not join. The second and third candidates are already working at the CoE. It is our responsibility to upskill them while we identify someone of that stature, experience and knowledge.”