On the eve of the first T20I against Sri Lanka, Team India skipper Shikhar Dhawan said that the team management will try out new faces in the playing XI only after securing the series.

Notably, India suffered a three-wicket defeat in the third ODI after making 6 changes to their playing XI. Sanju Samson, Nitish Rana, Krishnappa Gowtham, Rahul Chahar, and Chetan Sakariya received their maiden ODI caps in that game.

While Dhawan isn’t against experimentation with other young guns like Ruturaj Gaikwad, Varun Chakravarthy and Devdutt Padikkal, series win remains a priority for him.

"New guys definitely have the opportunity to play. We have to win the series. In the last ODI, there was a good opportunity to give some youngsters a chance and give them a taste of international cricket, because we had already won the series," Dhawan told mediapersons on Saturday (July 24).

"Now it's a new series, so we will of course go in with our best XI first. We will try to win the first two matches, and then according to the situation, we can experiment in the last game if needed," he added.

The captain, however, agreed that the IPL has made these youngsters ready for international cricket.

"Of course they are ready, that's why they are here. As you saw, youngsters have performed so well in the ODI series, so they'll be taking that confidence ahead in the T20I series. You will see them perform really well.

"As a team, we have created an amazing environment over here. Really looking forward to do well as a team. Not just the youngsters, even the senior players are looking forward to it."

According to Dhawan, the situation will dictate changes in the playing combination.

"It's going to be decided according to the situation. As I said, if we win two matches, then we have options to play any combination we want to. Otherwise, our main goal is to play the best XI to win the series.

"That's our first priority. After that, if we can seal it like we did in the ODIs, we can think of experimenting."

On the personal front, Dhawan is aware of the fact that he is auditioning for a place in India’s T20 World Cup 2021 squad.

"It is very important. Of course, any international match has its own impact, and whenever you perform internationally it makes a huge impact.

"So, on a personal note, I am really looking forward to perform over here and make my place more stronger for the World Cup. Then we'll see how it goes in the future."

On Friday (July 23), it was reported that the BCCI is looking to send opener Prithvi Shaw and middle-order batsman Suryakumar Yadav to England as replacements for injured players.

Commenting on it, Dhawan said the team's strategy will be prepared keeping both Shaw and Suryakumar in mind as they haven't received any formal intimation from the board.

"We haven't received any news like that yet. If the BCCI, or the management tell us this, then we'll know. So far, we haven't received any news about this, so we don't need to think of changing our strategy," he said.

As per Dhawan, Suryakumar could be a useful player in red-ball cricket too if he gets an opportunity.

"He's batting very well, whether it's ODIs or T20Is. He has vast experience of domestic cricket too, and he's a very mature player.

"Of course if he gets an opportunity, if the selectors think he should be in the Test team, he's a very well-equipped technical batsman. He's a smart batsman, smart thinker of the game. So I'm sure he'll do very well in any format."

(With PTI inputs)