Though India managed to clean sweep the Test series with ease, the home side are known to be a much tougher opposition in ODI's especially since Lasith Malinga plays the shorter formats of the game, which doubles Sri Lanka’s bowling threat. However, Sharma has said that he has a few plans with regard to how to tackle Malinga given that he knows the Lankan spearhead well from their time together at Mumbai Indians in the IPL.

“Every day is a learning day, today I got to learn something playing those sweeps and reverse-sweeps when someone like Malinga comes and bowls to you. It is something that the game demands these days. You got to be innovative and you got to play different kinds of shots to get maximum results,” ESPN quoted Sharma explaining.

While this is the first time that Sharma has been appointed the deputy skipper of the Indian squad, he is no stranger to the responsibility as he has successfully led Mumbai Indians in the past. And he spoke about the difference between leading a franchise side and captaining an international team saying, "IPL is a completely different ball game and international cricket is completely different. But, yes, the excitement and energy remain the same, so nothing changes too much. In the IPL, I was captain, so I was more in front; here, I have to play a little behind-the-scenes role, but yes, I'll be very excited to step on to the field as vice-captain of the Indian team."