Archive · 11 Aug 2026
Ashwin absence massive miss for India in Sri Lanka Tests
India and Sri Lanka are going to play two very important cricket games called Test matches.
The games start on Saturday in a city in Sri Lanka called Galle.
Spin bowlers, who make the ball turn and bounce, matter a lot on Sri Lankan pitches.
India used to have a very famous spinner named Ravichandran Ashwin, but he stopped playing in 2024.
A former Sri Lankan player named Farveez Maharoof says India will really miss Ashwin.
He thinks India should use three spinners: Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, and Manav Suthar.
Manav Suthar is new and did very well in his first game, taking seven wickets against Afghanistan.
Maharoof says Sri Lanka also has a great spinner named Prabath Jayasuriya, nicknamed the 'king of Galle'.
Wind in Galle can push the ball sideways, so bowlers must adjust to it.
Maharoof believes India's batter Rishabh Pant is the most dangerous player because he can change a game very quickly.
Former Sri Lanka pacer Farveez Maharoof called Ravichandran Ashwin's absence a 'massive miss' for India in the two-Test series starting Saturday in Galle.
Maharoof suggested Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav and Manav Suthar as India's ideal spin-bowling combination in Sri Lanka.
Kuldeep Yadav has taken 79 Test wickets in just 18 matches since his 2017 debut and remained benched during the England series.
Manav Suthar took a seven-wicket haul on debut against Afghanistan in June and impressed in the warm-up game in Colombo.
Maharoof named Sri Lanka's Prabath Jayasuriya the 'king of Galle' and warned that wind conditions will be a major factor for spinners.
Rishabh Pant was singled out as the batter Sri Lanka would fear most, though he made just two and 28 in the practice game.
- Who
- India's cricket team, led by skipper Shubman Gill, and Sri Lanka; former Sri Lanka fast bowler Farveez Maharoof gave the analysis.
- What
- A two-Test series in which India's spin attack faces scrutiny in the absence of retired off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.
- When
- The series starts in Galle on Saturday; Maharoof spoke in an online interaction on Tuesday.
- Where
- Galle, Sri Lanka, with the Indian team travelling and set to begin training before the series.
- Why
- Spin-friendly Sri Lankan conditions put India's spinners under pressure to fill the gap left by Ashwin's retirement.
- Series
- Two-match Test series between India and Sri Lanka
- Venue
- Galle, Sri Lanka
- Start date
- Saturday
- Ashwin's status
- Retired from Tests in 2024; absence called a 'massive miss'
- Kuldeep Yadav record
- 79 wickets in 18 Tests since his 2017 debut
- Suthar's debut
- Seven-wicket haul against Afghanistan in June
- Sri Lanka's spin weapon
- Prabath Jayasuriya, nicknamed 'king of Galle'
- Key factor
- Cross-wind conditions in Galle affecting spin drift and bounce