3 Surprising inclusions in India's Test squad for Sri Lanka series

2. Saurabh Kumar

After toiling hard in domestic cricket for so many years, Saurabh Kumar has got a maiden call up to the India squad for the two-match Test series against Sri Lanka. If selected in the playing XI, the spin all-rounder can also make a tremendous impact with his batting skills. In the 46 first-class matches that the 28-year-old has played so far, he has registered 196 scalps in 82 innings including 16 fifers and six 10-wicket hauls.

He has also been impressive with the bat having amassed 1572 runs in 63 innings, including two centuries. A late entrant to the national team after surviving cut-throat competition all these years, Saurabh Kumar would be eager to bamboozle the Sri Lankan batters in case he gets his maiden Test cap and also use the conditions to his advantage.

It would be interesting to see if the UP cricketer would get an opportunity to bowl in tandem with frontline spinners Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja and Jayant Yadav. Apart from making an impact with the ball, the left-arm spinner is a very good batter as well and can also make some vital contributions for the Rohit Sharma-led side lower down the order.