For all those who are likely to get a game, there will be just one target -- to make most of their chances as some of them might not get too many with just about 16 months left for the 50-overs World Cup.
The Pune outfit is presently languishing at the sixth spot in the eight-team standings with just four points.
Dhoni has to ponder over both the batting and bowling departments of his team.
Rohit scored his third ODI double century, settled down most comfortably as India's stop-gap captain, and was India's most valuable player by a long mile. Srinivas Bhogle and Purnendu Maji list the most valuable players in the Sri Lanka ODI series.
Rising Pune Supergiants brought their stuttering IPL campaign back on track with a convincing 34-run win over hosts Sunrisers Hyderabad via Duckowrth Lewis method in a rain-affected match.
Shocked by an inexperienced Sri Lankan side on a green wicket in the first Twenty20 match, India would aim to regain its winning touch and keep the series alive.
Kohli promoting Pandya ahead of Dhoni is an indication that the skipper is looking to use his former captain more as an accumulator -- in Javed Miandad mould who would rotate strike, frustrate bowlers and launch a furious counter-attack after getting his eye in.
It remains to be seen if reserve opener Ajinkya Rahane, the only player not to get a game in this series, would be included in place of Rohit Sharma or Shikhar Dhawan.
Rising Pune Supergiants will stand in the way of Kolkata Knight Riders's revival when they clash in an Indian Premier League T20 match?
India have not lost a series at home since the defeat to South Africa in October 2015.
The Indian team's batting woes continued as they lost their opening warm-up tie of the ICC World T20 against Sri Lanka by five runs in Dhaka on Monday.
Images from the World Cup Pool A match between Australia and Sri Lanka at the Sydney Cricket Ground.
Hashim Amla's 13th One-day International century and a clinical performance in the field carried South Africa to a comfortable 75 run victory in the opener of their three-match series against Sri Lanka on Sunday.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni is at the fag end of his career but opener K L Rahul said the former skipper is still a match-winner for India and continues to be an an inspiration in the dressing room.
Shikhar Dhawan struck a sublime hundred in the nick of time as India delivered yet again in a series decider to beat Sri Lanka by eight wickets in the third ODI and record their eighth successive win in a bilateral contest.
Riding high on Lasith Malinga's five-wicket haul and opener Lahiru Thrimanne's fluent century, Sri Lanka regained the Asia Cup trophy with a comfortable five-wicket victory over defending champions Pakistan in Mirpur on Saturday.
Tillakaratne Dilshan scored his third consecutive half-century as Sri Lanka beat New Zealand by 36 runs under Duckworth/Lewis in the third and final one-day international to clinch a 1-1 series draw on Saturday.
David Warner's unbeaten 90 went in vain as Sri Lanka beat Australia by five wickets in the first Twenty20 International on Saturday to go 1-0 up in the two-match series.
Shikhar Dhawan continued his blazing form as he lead Sunrisers Hyderabad to the main round of the Champions League T20 after a crushing seven-wicket victory over Pakistan's Faisalabad Wolves by seven wickets in their second qualifying round match.
Titans skipper Henry Davids (64) and Jacques Rudolph (49 not out) put on a century stand to lead their side to a crushing eight-wicket win over Sunrisers Hyderabad in their Champions League Twenty20 Group B match in Ranchi on Saturday.
Shikhar Dhawan led from front with a sparkling half-century as Sunrisers Hyderabad trounced Kandurata Maroons by eight wickets in their opening match of the Champions League Twenty20 Qualifiers, in Mohali on Tuesday.
Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews conceded that it will be 'very hard to beat India' in the ICC Champions Trophy Group B match in London, on Thursday.
Penpix of the Sri Lanka squad for the 2015 cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
Captain Virat Kohli's blazing blade ensured a comfortable seven-wicket victory in the one-off Twenty20 International as the visitors completed a 9-0 rout of Sri Lanka across all three formats, in Colombo, on Wednesday.
Rajasthan Royals would be keen to adapt quickly to their new 'home ground' when they lock horns with last season's runner-up Kings XI Punjab in their campaign opener in the Indian Premier League in Pune.
Take a look at the statistical highlights of the first One-day International between India and Sri Lanka.
Skipper Rohit Sharma rose to the occasion when it mattered most as his record breaking third double hundred guided India to a series-levelling 141-run win against Sri Lanka in the second ODI in Mohali on Wednesday.
Shikhar Dhawan continued his love affair with the ICC Champions Trophy with yet another elegant hundred, guiding India to an imposing 321 for six.
A clinical Kings XI Punjab crushed Cape Cobras by seven wickets for their fourth win in a row as they ended their Group B engagements with a flourish in the Champions League Twenty20 in Mohali.
Kings XI Punjab put up yet another dominating performance as they outclassed Northern Knights from New Zealand by a whopping 120 runs in Mohali to enter the semi-finals in their maiden appearance in the Oppo Champions League T20.
Mumbai Indians are all set to open the defense of their title against new outfit Rising Pune Supergiants.
Ambati Rayudu slammed his maiden hundred as India produced yet another comprehensive batting performance to ease past Sri Lanka by six wickets in the second One-Day International, in Motera, Ahmedabad, on Thursday.
Andre Russell's spectacular all-round performance powered defending champions Kolkata Knight Riders to a convincing four-wicket victory against Kings XI Punjab in the Indian Premier League, in Pune, on Saturday.
Having decimated the opposition with clinical precision in all four matches, India will be aiming to complete a clean sweep when they take on a struggling Sri Lanka in the fifth and final cricket one-dayer in Ranchi on Sunday.
The visitors have a 2-0 lead in the series and can wrap up the contest with another win here before leaving for the last leg of the tour in Colombo.
The hosts have hit nadir in both form and confidence, and, after a lop-sided 3-0 Test series victory, the script did not change much in the opening ODI, where India steamrolled the opposition by nine wickets.
Getting his team composition right will be Mahendra Singh Dhoni's primary aim as Rising Pune Supergiants meet an out-of-sorts Kings XI Punjab in an Indian Premier League cricket tournament encounter, in Mohali on Sunday.
Pakistan will meet Group A toppers England in the first semi-final on Wednesday at the same venue.
India's batting ace Yuvraj Singh commanded the highest price, Royal Challengers Bangalore paying a massive 14 crore for him, while Dinesh Karthik was a surprise pick at 12.5 crore by Delhi Daredevils.
Any other result than India's resounding win looks highly unlikely, consdering the visitors' rampaging run in the preceding Test and ODI series, where they whitewashed the hosts 3-0 and 5-0 respectively.
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