Yashasvi Jaiswal headbutts Asitha Fernando after dismissal in Colombo Test

Yashasvi Jaiswal was involved in a heated on-field confrontation with Sri Lanka pacer Asitha Fernando after being dismissed for 45 during the morning session of Day 1 in the second Test at the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo on August 23, 2026.

The incident occurred in the 17th over of India's first innings when Fernando, having been struck for three boundaries earlier in the over, removed Jaiswal with the final delivery; the India opener had scored 45 from 53 balls, hitting nine fours. India won the toss and elected to bat, and Saransh Jain made his Test debut; Shubman Gill revealed that Kuldeep Yadav had been ruled out because of an "infection".

Fernando reacted strongly after the breakthrough and gave Jaiswal a fiery send-off as the batter walked off. Jaiswal appeared to hear something from the bowler, turned back and exchanged words with Fernando, after which the two came face-to-face and the Indian batter appeared to make slight head contact with the Sri Lankan pacer. Sri Lankan teammates intervened to separate the players and defuse the situation.

Earlier in the session Jaiswal and KL Rahul had begun positively, with Jaiswal showing intent and better judgement outside off stump while Rahul was initially watchful before finding his rhythm. Lahiru Kumara eventually broke through when Rahul edged a wide delivery through to the wicketkeeper for 18. Devdutt Padikkal joined Jaiswal and survived an early nervous moment when he edged one past the slip cordon.

After that promising start for India, Sri Lanka managed to fight their way back into the contest, with the Colombo surface offering enough assistance to keep the Indian batters under pressure.

Both openers were back in the pavilion inside the first session and India were 66/2 at that stage of the second Test.