Rahul steps up as India captain for tour game with Gill injured

KL Rahul is leading the Indian side in their three-day warm-up match against a Sri Lanka Cricket XI in Colombo after regular Test captain Shubman Gill was ruled out of Day 1 with a finger injury.

Gill's Injury: Shubman Gill sustained an "impact injury to his right ring finger" during Thursday's practice session. He is sitting out Day 1 as a precaution, with the BCCI medical team monitoring his progress ahead of the Test series.

Captaincy Handover: Designated vice-captain KL Rahul took charge at the toss for the three-day fixture, which saw SLC XI elect to bowl. Sudharsan's Arrival Delayed: B Sai Sudharsan is still completing rehabilitation in Bengaluru following a toe injury but is expected to join the squad in Sri Lanka prior to the first Test.

Growing Injury List: India are already without several key players for the series, including Jasprit Bumrah (knee injury, replaced by Auqib Nabi), Washington Sundar (hamstring), Harshit Rana, and Nitish Kumar Reddy.

Gill's larger fear was that if the trend continued, it would have a severe impact on India's performance at the 2027 ODI World Cup, which will be played next October-November in southern Africa.

The first Test in Sri Lanka begins on August 15 in Galle and the second on August 23 at the SSC in Colombo.

The series in Sri Lanka is India's first in the ongoing World Test Championship cycle since the 2-0 home defeat to South Africa in November. Before that, they had drawn a five-Test series in England 2-2 and beaten West Indies 2-0 at home.