Surrounded by expansive trees and skyscrapers, the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) Ground was like a sauna on Friday (August 21, 2026). A maximum of 30 degrees Celsius belied the actual heat felt on the premises, and in this cauldron, the Indian team practised as part of the build-up towards the second Test commencing on Sunday (August 23).

K.L. Rahul and Kuldeep Yadav skipped the pre-game drills, and spin-bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule clarified that the duo were resting. The others did their batting and bowling stints while coach Gautam Gambhir and chief-selector Ajit Agarkar watched. Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal, Rishabh Pant and Shubman Gill constituted the first quartet that batted.

Gill freed his arms and unleashed big shots while the warning ‘watch out’ rang aloud through the ground. Later, the skipper had a chat with Gambhir while Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Sarfaraz Khan and others batted. Off-spinner Saransh Jain turned his arm over and it remains to be seen if he will come into contention against a left-hander heavy Sri Lankan batting.

Bowling coach Morne Morkel, always busy at nets, ran in and bowled too. He had mentioned about coping with the heat in Galle, guess the same challenge awaits his wards in the Sri Lankan capital.

India’s two-Test series against hosts Sri Lanka will be played in Galle and Colombo from August 15 to 27, the home board Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) announced on Thursday (July 2,2026).

The series is part of the World Test Championship. The first Test will be played at the Galle International Stadium from August 15, while the second will be at the Singhalese Sports Club from August 23, read a statement from Sri Lanka Cricket.

India, who have made two finals but never won the World Test Championship title, are currently fifth in the standings, while Sri Lanka are sixth.

India will also tour New Zealand this year for a two-match Test series in November-December.

India had begun the Shubman Gill captaincy era with a commendable 2-2 draw in England before winning the home series against the West Indies.

However, the mighty hosts were whitewashed by South Africa at home last year, raising serious questions over the batters’ ability to play spin.

The Sri Lankan spinners in their own backyard will provide another stiff challenge to the Indian batters.

The last time India toured Sri Lanka for a Test series was in 2017 when they had won 3-0.