India batting coach Sitanshu Kotak firmly dismissed speculation surrounding Kuldeep Yadav’s absence from the Colombo Test, insisting the left-arm wrist spinner was genuinely down with viral fever and there was “no need to fake” an illness to leave him out of the XI.“If the team needs a spinner and then he doesn’t play, there is no need to fake that he wasn’t keeping well,” Kotak said, stressing that Kuldeep was unfit to take the field.Kotak also provided a positive update on Rishabh Pant, who retired hurt on two after being struck on the left wrist by a Lahiru Kumara bouncer shortly after tea on Day 1. The wicketkeeper-batter received treatment before leaving the field, but Kotak said he was expected to resume his innings on Monday.India ended the day on 300/5 with Dhruv Jurel and Saransh Jain unbeaten, while hoping Pant’s return can help push the total higher.The opening day also saw tempers flare when Yashasvi Jaiswal and Sri Lanka pacer Asitha Fernando exchanged words following the opener’s dismissal. Kotak termed it a “heat of the moment” incident, though he felt Jaiswal should not have approached the bowler. Sri Lanka fast bowling coach Ryan van Niekerk called the confrontation an “overflow of emotion”, leaving any disciplinary action in the hands of match referee Andy Pycroft.
