Shubman Gill-led India are set to take on a local Sri Lankan side in a three-day warm-up game starting on 7th August. The match was initially set to be a four-day affair ending on 10th August, but the game has now been pruned to a three-day match. There is no clear reason behind the move, but the Indian side will be using this game as a chance to get ready for the two-match series. 

The warm-up game will be played near the Sinhalese Sports Club, where the second Test is scheduled to start on 23rd August.

The three-day game will be important for the visiting side, who will want to get ready for the opening game of the series in Galle starting on 15th August 2026. 

Galle has been historically known to be a venue where spin bowlers have their say from the start. India’s last Test match at this venue was in 2017 under Virat Kohli’s captaincy, which they won with ease.

The two teams are close to each other in the World Test Championship standings and would look to win the series to keep their qualification hopes alive. 

India’s last Test was against Afghanistan at home just after the IPL 2026 season ended. Sri Lanka, on the other hand, had lost the away series to West Indies, their first-ever Test series loss to the Caribbean side in over 23 years. Dhananjaya De Silva‘s side lost the first Test by an innings and 217 runs while the second game ended in a draw. 

After this series against the Island Nation, India will head back home for an ODI and T20I series against the West Indies. That will be followed by a tour of New Zealand, where they will play five ODIs and T20I matches as well as two Test matches. The year will end with a home series against Sri Lanka in the white-ball format. 2027 begins with three ODI games against Zimbabwe followed by the five-match Test series against Australia. 

India squad for Sri Lanka series

Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (C), Rishabh Pant, Dhruv Jurel, Ravindra Jadeja, Devdutt Padikkal, Manav Suthar, Saransh Jain, Kuldeep Yadav, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Gurnoor Brar, Prasidh Krishna.