Why did India rest Kuldeep Yadav in warm-up second innings?

India rested Kuldeep Yadav in the second innings of the Colombo warm-up after he'd already bowled close to 20 overs — 18 during the three-day match plus a couple more before play started. Team management wanted to assess his condition rather than pile on the workload.

Spin bowling coach Sairaj Bahutule confirmed it was precautionary. Ravindra Jadeja, Manav Suthar and Saransh Jain got extended bowling time instead, giving the selectors more data on who partners Kuldeep at Galle. With his Test career a stop-start affair, keeping him fresh matters. The next few days will show how his body's holding up before the actual Test begins.