Saransh Jain’s Long Wait Ends With Maiden India Test Call-Up

NEW DELHI- When Madhya Pradesh off-spinning all-rounder Saransh Jain received his maiden India Test call-up for the upcoming two-match tour of Sri Lanka, those who had followed the 33-year-old’s journey from Indore saw it as the reward for years of perseverance and consistent performances.

A left-handed batter and regular for India ‘A’, Jain has scored 2,223 runs and taken 188 wickets in 54 first-class matches. After making his Ranji Trophy debut in 2014, he spent years on the fringes before playing a key role in Madhya Pradesh’s maiden Ranji Trophy triumph in 2022 with 13 wickets and a crucial half-century in the knockout stage.

He took his game to another level in the 2025-26 domestic season, scoring 518 runs at an average of 57.55 and taking 30 wickets at 20.43. He also earned the Player of the Series award for Central Zone in the Duleep Trophy after claiming 16 wickets and scoring two fifties in two matches.

Former BCCI secretary and former national selector Sanjay Jagdale said, “He literally forced his entry into the Indian team, although it is a bit late. But even then, he has been very consistent.”

Madhya Pradesh men’s Under-19 head coach Sunil Dholpure, who trained alongside Jain under his father, former Madhya Pradesh off-spinner Subodh Jain, said the family’s sacrifices played a major role in his rise.

“When his father started coaching, the club rose to be at the top of the Indore division. His father had a car and he would drive both boys to the club. He received a lot of notices from the bank where he worked, but he was so passionate about cricket that he used to coach us instead of going to work,” Dholpure told.

To give his son more practice, Subodh Jain even built a practice pitch on the rooftop of their home. “He covered the roof with nets and Saransh used to spend hours batting and bowling there. He did a lot of individual practice and that helped him improve,” Dholpure recalled.

Jain’s selection also comes after India all-rounder Washington Sundar was ruled out of the first Test with a hamstring injury, while Sri Lanka’s left-hand-heavy batting line-up increased the need for a specialist off-spinner.

As news of the Test call-up reached home, Subodh Jain, a mouth cancer survivor, summed up the family’s long wait in a WhatsApp status: “Mera sapna tha, woh poora hua” (My dream has come true). (IANS)