India look to sharpen their side ahead of the Test series against Sri Lanka as they face Sri Lanka XI in a three-day warm-up match at the Nondescripts Cricket Club Ground in Colombo from Friday. However, the Shubman Gill-led side’s preparations can face a major challenge as rain can end up playing spoilsport. According to weather forecasts, heavy showers are expected to affect the city from Friday morning to Sunday afternoon. As a result, the match can end up facing multiple stoppages and the reduced amount of play will certainly impact India’s preparations for the series. At present, there is a 90 per cent chance of rain on Friday morning with the temperature likely to remain around 30 degree Celsius.
The situation is not expected to improve in the afternoon as there is a 70 per cent chance of rain with strong winds and thick cloud cover. Prolonged rain can also impact ground conditions and that can end up delaying the game even further.
India’s last Test series in Sri Lanka was in 2017, and the team composition has undergone vast changes in the last decade.
In fact, only Rahul, Kuldeep Yadav and Ravindra Jadeja in this squad have appeared in Test matches in Sri Lanka.
In the absence of an injured Jasprit Bumrah, pacer Mohammed Siraj will be India’s bowling lead with support coming from Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Manav Suthar and Saransh Jain.
This largely inexperienced bowling lineup, except Siraj and Kuldeep, will be eager to bowl on a Lankan pitch once again.
Both Brar and Jain had very good outings for India A against Sri Lanka A last month at Galle, and they will be raring to have another round of practice under their belt.
Head Coach Gautam Gambhir emphasised on this point.
“We know what is in front of us. We can do volume, we can push our limits, we can tick all the boxes and come 15th morning whether we are batting first or bowling first we will be absolutely ready with every answer to every question thrown at us.
“So make sure to tick all the boxes from now on,” Gambhir exhorted his wards in a video posted by BCCI.
(With PTI inputs)