India refreshed and ready to go, says Dhoni

MS Dhoni has said his team is geared up for the limited-overs tour of Sri Lanka, which marks the start of a hectic season following a seven-week break. India play five ODIs and a T20 international in Sri Lanka from Saturday before hosting New Zealand, playing the World T20 and then hosting England and Pakistan at the end of the year.

"Most of the players have come back after a long break and the body looks very different and their fielding and other activities look very different," Dhoni told reporters in Chennai before his team's departure to Sri Lanka. "We will make the most of the rests that we have got. It's the start of the season and we want to start it on a good note."

Sri Lanka and India are familiar rivals, having met in as many as seven ODI competitions, bilateral and multi-team, since the start of 2010. "Sri Lanka is not a new place for us. We have played at least one series there each year, even twice in a year. Conditions are also not very different from India and acclimatising to conditions will not be difficult," Dhoni said. "This Sri Lanka series is good for us. We have to come back in Sri Lanka again for the Twenty20 World Cup. It will help us."

Dhoni admitted that the team sought overall improvement after being beaten comprehensively in England and Australia, and said there was much time spent on lifting the standard of fielding. He also said dealing with a hectic schedule was part of the job for players today. "It's a hectic schedule but as professionals we have to maintain our standard. We will play in different venues and there will also be some travel.

"Next year, there is bit of a gap between each series. That is a good sign for us. This is the longest break that we have got during the last five years and it is not possible to get such breaks often.

"The first break we got, after I started playing for the country in 2004, was in 2007. Breaks in between are necessary and a bit of break between the seasons will do a world of good."

The first ODI will take place in Hambantota on July 21.