Old ground, new reality: A proud record against Sri Lanka offers little comfort to an Indian side still searching for identity

No player in this Indian squad knows what it’s like to lose a Test series to Sri Lanka. Only one has even been on the losing side in a Test against this opponent — KL Rahul, from the 2015 tour. One half of this story is that Sri Lanka have never won a Test in India. The other is that Rahul, Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav are the only survivors from the squad that last toured Sri Lanka in 2017. Normally, this would be cause for great statistical comfort. But this squad knows that the proudest of records are meant to be broken. Many of them were in harness in 2024 when New Zealand inflicted the first series whitewash in India (in a series of three matches or more) and also a year later when South Africa claimed a series win in India after 25 years.

Gautam Gambhir was the coach in both those series. And he will not enjoy being reminded that he was in the team when India last lost a series to Sri Lanka, back in 2008. Gambhir was by some distance India’s most assured batsman on that tour, with scores of 39, 43, 56, 74, 72 and 26 as India went down 2-1, the sole win coming on the back of Virender Sehwag’s 201 in Galle. The 2008 series was a freakish result. It has to be when Muttiah Muralitharan is not the most effective spin bowler in his own team, forget the series. Murali had 21 wickets at 22.23, excellent returns, but was eclipsed by Ajantha Mendis, at a time when mystery spinners were still a rare commodity, who repeatedly ran through India to end with 26 scalps at only 18.38.

Mendis’s efficacy was only sharpened by the trial of the [Umpire] Decision Review System, which India stoutly opposed at the time and used amateurishly compared to their counterparts. Mendis was never again as lethal, and India were able to shrug off that result and get back to business as usual soon after.


It would not be unfair to say that India have never been more vulnerable when arriving on Sri Lanka’s shores. Even back in 1985, when Sri Lanka won their first Test (having not done so in 12 earlier attempts), India arrived overconfident, if anything. That was a hastily arranged series with little time for the players to get used to the conditions or think about the opposition, and some loose batting cost them one Test; if rain had not intervened, they might have lost the series by a bigger margin than 1-0. No, this time a lack of preparation or awareness of the size of the job on hand cannot be an excuse. India won their three-day warm-up match at the Nondescripts Cricket Club in Colombo and have been putting in extra practice sessions.

The series does not lack context: India currently sit at No. 5 in the ICC World Test Championship table with a win percentage of 48.15. To qualify for the final, teams typically need to be above the 60% mark, and getting there will not be easy for India. After two Tests in Sri Lanka, India have two away games against New Zealand and five at home against Australia still to play in this cycle. A rough calculation suggests India must win at least six of these nine Tests, and, on paper at least, the Sri Lanka series is their best chance.

But the Indian team is not in a position where they can feel comfortable in any sense. In the absence of Jasprit Bumrah, the pace attack is led by the indefatigable Mohammed Siraj. For company, he has Prasidh Krishna (7 Tests, 25 wickets at 31), the uncapped Gurnoor Brar, and Auqib Nabi.

India have been reluctant, to the point of being diffident, in playing Kuldeep Yadav in Test matches, and this leaves Ravindra Jadeja in the company of Manav Suthar (one Test v Afghanistan) and Saransh Jain, the uncapped 30-year-old.

This inexperience in the bowling attack would have mattered less to previous Indian touring teams because the batting could have been relied on to carry the day. But India are shaky on this count as well. Shubman Gill has recovered from a blow to the finger, fortunately for the visitors, and will have a huge role to play in setting the tone. Yashasvi Jaiswal, a proven performer, is hungry for opportunities. Rahul is showing that being in a good headspace makes all the difference.

At No. 3, Devdutt Padikkal looks set to add to his two Tests on the back of a hundred in the warm-up match, but it’s early days in his career. Down the order, Dhruv Jurel has taken his chances, but the inclusion of Sarfaraz Khan, a quality player of spin in these conditions, means that India do not yet know what their best eleven is. When the teams square up in Galle, India will put their best foot forward with optimism and belief. But, if they are honest with themselves, they will know victory is by no means promised, and defeat is not outside the realm of possibility.