We are well-familiar with the tight schedule of Indian cricket team, and it is very rare the players get to welcome a break. And recently when they really got the one-and-a-half month gap between the IPL and the Sri Lanka series, it was lapped up by one and all in the Indian team.

Skipper MS Dhoni looked fresh and raring to go in the couple of practice sessions that he had over the last couple of days and when he met the media on Tuesday evening, he said how important this break was for all the boys.

"The first break we got since my debut in 2004 was after the 2007 World Cup. We do not really have fond memories of that break...So this was something we were looking for and we can see that in the body language of the players," Dhoni said.

When asked whether such breaks should be made mandatory every year, the Indian captain went a little on the defensive. "Given the calendar we have, it's a little difficult to get such breaks every year...But this year, we have gaps between series, so that should help."

Dhoni said that the practice sessions, looking ahead to the series against Sri Lanka, went very well. "The boys were fresh and we had some specific training sessions which helped in overall improvement...We will now leave for Sri Lanka, battle-ready," he said.

Our best wishes are with you Men in Blue!

Source: TNN