After losing the test series by 2-1, Indian ODI captain M S Dhoni feels that losing Sachin Tendulkar could for the team.

On his arrival at Colombo airport Dhoni said, “Losing Sachin Tendulkar at this point of time can be crucial. It is very difficult to fill the space when it comes to Sachin. He not only contributes with the bat and the ball his impact in the dressing room is great.”

Sachin Tendulkar has been ruled out of the five match ODI series against Sri Lanka as he sustained an injury while attempting a catch during the third test match in Colombo. Injured Tendulkar has been replaced by Tamil Nadu batsman S. Badrinath in the one day series.

However, Dhoni is quite confident that his young team members will give their best performances against the quality spin attack of Muralidharan and Mendis. He said, “At times, we have seen that when such a thing arises in the international scenario the youngsters come up, they accept the responsibility. They take it as a challenge. Hopefully, it will be great to see someone who has just made his mark in the international level to really perform at the top.”

Speaking on Mendis, the Indian skipper said, "He (Mendis) is a bit different and the batsmen need some time to settle in. We have to be positive, but ultimately it comes down to how we play him in the middle.” Mendis was a revelation in the recent three-Test series against Indians. The unorthodox spinner claimed 26 wickets in three tests and played a key role in his team's victory.

Meanwhile, after winning the test series Sri Lankan skipper Mahela Jayawardena said that they can’t take Indians lightly. Speaking with media persons the Lankan said, ''This is a different version of the game altogether and we should get our gameplan right as much as we did for the Test series.”

The first ODI begins at the Rangiri Dambulla International Cricket Stadium August 18.

India ODI squad: Mahendra Singh Dhoni (captain), Subramaniam Badrinath, Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Rohit Sharma, Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli, Parthiv Patel, Irfan Pathan, Praveen Kumar, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan, Rudra Pratap Singh, Munaf Patel and Pragyan Ojha.