India take four specialist spinners with squad as net bowlers to Sri Lanka for Test series

Wrist-spinners Vipraj Nigam and Shivang Kumar will be joining the Indian Test side as net bowlers on their tour to Sri Lanka, set to commence in mid-August. 

The series will commence on August 15 in Galle, with a three-day warm-up match scheduled to commence on August 7. The tour group will depart for Sri Lanka from Mumbai on Tuesday, August 4.

As reported by Cricbuzz, leg-spinner Vipraj and left-arm wrist-spinner Shivang will join off-spinner Tanush Kotian and left-arm spinning all-rounder Harsh Dubey as the net bowlers travelling along with the squad. The options mean that India will have four different types of bowlers at their disposal. 

Vipraj has evolved into a reliable leg-spin option who also offers enough with the bat. He was recently with the India A team in the tri-nation series in Sri Lanka. Shivang Kumar was one of the breakout stars of the 2026 Indian Premier League, with his stock rising as a highly rated prospect. Kotian has been around the Indian set-up for a while and has been part of several A tours, while Dubey has been a prolific bowler in the Ranji Trophy across the last two seasons and was part of the India squad for the one-off Test against Afghanistan in June. 

KL Rahul and Yashasvi Jaiswal train together in Mumbai ahead of SL series

With preparation for the tour underway, it was further reported by the aforementioned source that India's openers Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul were seen practising together in Mumbai on the eve of the team's departure on Monday, August 3. The pair have practised for the past few days at Wings Sports Centre in Bandra West, a multi-sport facility with specialised cricket nets, which is run by former India cricketer Jatin Paranjape. 

The pair, often having to face up against the new ball, were noted to have been practising solely against spin bowlers, a highlight of expected conditions in the series in Lanka. Kotian, a native of Mumbai and teammate of Jaiswal in the domestic circuit, was also reportedly present and bowling at the two openers.

The first Test will be played at the Galle International Stadium from August 15, while the second Test is set to commence on August 23 at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo.