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India vs Sri Lanka warm-up: Why did KL Rahul lead India at the toss instead of Shubman Gill?

Sandy Verma | August 7, 2026 4:24 PM CST

NEW DELHI: There was a surprise before the start of India’s three-day warm-up match against Sri Lanka XI at the Nondescripts Cricket Club Ground in Colombo. Instead of captain Shubman Gill, KL Rahul walked out for the toss.Sri Lanka XI skipper Sonal Dinusha won the toss and chose to bat first.The three-day warm-up match is India’s final preparation before the two-Test series against Sri Lanka.The first Test will be played in Galle from August 15, while the second Test is scheduled to begin in Colombo on August 23.

Why is Shubman Gill not playing?

Soon after the toss, the BCCI shared an update on Gill’s absence.The India captain suffered an injury to his right ring finger during Thursday’s practice session.”He [Shubman Gill] sustained an impact injury to his right ring finger during India’s practice on Thursday. As a precautionary measure, he will not take the field on Day 1 of the warm-up game against SLC XI. The BCCI Medical Team is monitoring his progress,” the BCCI said.”KL Rahul will lead the team in Gill’s absence,” it said.Teams:Sri Lanka XI: Nishan Madushka, Pasindu Sooriyabandara, Pavan Rathnayake, Ahan Wickramasinghe, Sonal Dinusha (captain), Anjala Bandara (wicketkeeper), Nipun Dhananjaya, Lahiru Kumara, Vishwa Fernando, Asanka Manoj, Isitha Wijesundera, Ramesh Mendis, Dilum Sudeera, Keshara Nuwantha, Ravindu Rasantha.India: Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Sai Sudharsan, Devdutt Padikkal, KL Rahul (captain), Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Manav Suthar, Saransh Jain, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Auqib Nabi, Gurnoor Brar.