'Will try to take Indore's name higher': Saransh Jain after maiden India Test call-up

Saransh Jain was drafted into the squad after spin-bowling all-rounder Washington Sundar was ruled out of the first Test with a hamstring injury.

Saransh Jain, a 33-year-old all-rounder from Madhya Pradesh, is a left-handed batter and off-spinner. He has amassed 2,223 runs at an average of 31.75 and claimed 188 wickets at 27.30 in 54 first-class matches. While he has also played 67 List A and T20 games, red-ball cricket remains his strongest format.

Speaking to ANI, Jain expressed pride in the prospect of representing his hometown of Indore, calling it a hub of sporting talent, and said he hopes to further enhance the city's reputation through his performances for India.

"As there have been many talented players from Indore and in all fields, Indore is a very talented hub, and I am very happy that I belong to Indore and I will try to take Indore's name even bigger and higher," he said.

Jain said he learned about his maiden India Test call-up through social media while travelling between temples in Indore, with congratulatory messages and phone calls soon confirming the news.

"I got to know through social media in the morning. I was at Ranjeet Hanuman Mandir, and when I sat in the car, I was going to Gumasta Nagar Jain temple near Nakoda Bhairav. Then I got to know...messages and calls came, and then it was confirmed."

Jain recalled a difficult phase when he considered leaving cricket during his father's battle with cancer. He said his father's encouraging note asking him to keep playing and promising to recover remains a constant source of motivation.

"Father had cancer, so he just wrote a note that you just play good cricket and I will get well soon, so that thing will always motivate me for the future too."

Saransh credited his father as his first coach, saying he taught him the basics of batting and bowling and continued to bowl to him until last year. After his father's bypass surgery, Saransh shifted his practice outdoors, with support from his father, brother and friends Amit and Himanshu.

"He has been the coach. My father taught me to hold the bat and ball, and until last year he used to bowl to me, but he had a bypass last year, so I told him that you take some rest; I will practice outside. So, my father, brother and two of my friends, Amit and Himanshu, made me bat a lot."The two-match Test series will begin with the first Test at the Galle International Cricket Stadium (GICS) from August 15 to 19, followed by the second Test at the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) in Colombo from August 23 to 27.

India's squad for Tests against Sri Lanka:

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