Recently, Dinesh Karthik in an interaction with the media spoke about the role which IPL plays in giving youngsters a platform and preparing them for the future. With star skipper Virat Kohli being rested, the Rohit Sharma-led Indian squad has three uncapped players - Basil Thampi, Deepak Hooda and Washington Sundar. While Washington Sundar got his chance in the ODI’s, Basil Thampi is expected to make his T20I debut in the series against Sri Lanka.

"All of them have come with a lot of IPL experience behind them - some have played 20-30 games. They are not as perturbed as they used to be in earlier days. It gives them a lot of confidence to come into the International set-up” said Karthik in the pre match press conference before the T20I series.

"We are trying to assess how each one reacts to different situations. These are great platform for a lot of young guys to come in and showcase their talents. As senior players, wejust try and help these young guys as much as possible” added Karthik.

"The Indian team has reached a stage where no matter which team we are playing, we are a very strong side and we are trying to achieve some good thing on the field every time," he added.

Karthik also highlighted the position he would like to bat in the upcoming T20I series. He said he would stick to number 4 unless the team needs something different from him. "Depending on the situations and number of overs, I might go up and down a little bit but I'm seeing myself starting at number four for sure," he said.

The T20I opener will be played out at Cuttack’s Barabati stadium.