‘We need not worry too much about Mendis’

“We just need to play according to what we see is coming out of his hand. We want the individuals to be careful and cautious and I want them to play him and Murali the way they played them in the last one-day series,” he said.

He breaks into a grin when someone refers to him as Padma Shri Mahendra Singh Dhoni. “It’s a big award for me and brings with it a bigger sense of responsibility,” he said.

“I try to enjoy my captaincy in Tests and ODIs but you don’t enjoy it every time because it’s tough and you are playing at the highest level.

“The good thing is I’ve got a good side that automatically takes the pressure off me.”

Inexperienced spinners

He also expressed confidence in his inexperienced spin attack in the absence of Harbhajan Singh on wickets that are expected to suit the spinners. “Harbhajan has been the pick of our spinners. We will miss him. But we have two spinners in the side — (Pragyan) Ohja and (Ravindra) Jadeja. They will try to fill in,and we have part-time options as well. One positive is that they will get assistance from the pitch. It’s a fair opportunity for both of them to prove themselves.”

Meanwhile,both Dhoni and Mahela Jayawardene promised a keen contest. “I don’t see any series as a friendly,” Dhoni said.

Jayawardene added: “The boards may have friendly relations,but on the ground we want to win matches. There are no friendly games in international cricket. You put your pride on the line when you go out there. Each and every game will be tough.”