Oz series a 'learning curve' for youngsters, affirms Dhoni

Indian ODI skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Monday said the forthcoming series against Australia will be a 'learning curve' for the youngsters in the side, adding that it would test the senior players of the team as well.

The 34-year-old said the series against the 'tough' Australian side would provide a lot of exposure to the youngsters.

"As I have said Australian are known to play tough cricket irrespective of where they are competing. Which means it will give our youngsters, our players who are a part of our side a fair amount of exposure and lot of experience. As I said it will be a very good learning curve for the youngsters and at the same time it will test the seniors who are the part of the side," Dhoni told the media ahead of the first Test.

Talking about his strategy, Dhoni said that his side would focus on one game at a time rather than looking at the series as a whole.

"I feel to start off well is very important. It's important for us to do the small things right. I think it is a bilateral series where lot of new individuals will get a chance. So, it will be very exciting," he added.

Dhoni also expressed his views on calling rookie pacer Barinder Sran in the ODI squad in place of injured Mohammad Shami.

The skipper said that although Shami's omission was a great loss for the team, it would be good to see how the new players would handle the pressure.

"Shami has been very good for us. If you see the World Cup, he was somebody who bowled really well for us. He can bowl well with a new ball in the middle overs and also in the depth. It is always good to have such kind of bowlers. It's sad we lost him to an injury. As far as newcomers are concerned, we will definitely feature them in the tournament and also we want to see where they stand," Dhoni said.

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Dhoni further insisted that he was not looking at the series as revenge to their World Cup defeat, but they would try to achieve the maximum.

"You want to compete, you want to win the game because at the end of the day you are representing your country. But at the same time, you have to follow the guidelines that have been followed, spirit of the game. It starts from small basic things. So, I won't consider the word revenge. But definitely we will like to do well. We want to get a lot out of this particular series."

India, which claimed a 3-0 win in the recently concluded Test series against South Africa, will aim to continue their winning momentum when they will take on Australia in a five-match ODI series, starting from Tuesday in Perth.