IND vs SL | There is nice blend of expereince and youth in the side, reckons Shikhar Dhawan 

The pandemic has changed cricket in a lot of ways. Not only in terms of quarantine, bio-bubbles, and rule changes but also in the way cricket is being organized. If it was not for the new world order, the Indian team present in England might well have travelled to Sri Lanka for the while-ball series before returning to England again for the five-match Test series. But, with that not happening around, India will be fielding their second-string side, and that might not well be a bad idea as it will serve as an audition for spots in the T20 World Cup.

The team still have some seniors in the form of Shikhar Dhawan, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Hardik Pandya, and Yuzvendra Chahal, who are also regulars on the side. But, there is a lot of youth with the likes of Prithvi Shaw, Sanju Samson, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Devdutt Padikkal, Ishan Kishan, Krishnappa Gowtham, and Chetan Sakariya, to take a few names.

Ahead of the much-awaited tour, India's stand-in-captain Shikhar Dhawan stated that the team have a nice mixture of youth and experience and there's a lot of belief. 

"The team is a nice blend of experience and youth. This is a very good team. There is positivity, confidence in our team and everybody is confident that we will do well. There is lot of excitement," Dhawan said at the virtual pre-departure press-conference.

He asserted that it will be a new challenge to play with a relatively young side. The left-hander also added that everyone is putting in the hard yards and the preparations are going pretty well.

"It is a new challenge but at the same time it is a great opportunity for all of us to show our talent. Everybody is waiting (for the tour to begin). 13-14 days have passed since we are in quarantine, so the players are waiting when we can hit the ground and we have 10-12 days for preparation.

"The boys are doing smart work and are looking forward to these matches. The players have already performed well, be it in the IPL."

The Sri Lanka tour will have three ODIs and T20Is each, kick-starting from July 13, with the white-ball series concluding on July 25.