BANGALORE, July 29: India skipper Rahul Dravid said on Saturday a strong start would be the key to winning the tough triangular one-day cricket series in Sri Lanka next month.

“We have a tough series ahead, with Sri Lanka doing very well in recent one-dayers.

“But if we start well, we can make a turnaround,” said Dravid, whose side were thrashed 4-1 in one-dayers in the West Indies in May.

India clash with Sri Lanka on August 16 in their opening match of the tournament, also featuring South Africa.

Each team will play four league matches before the top two advance to the Aug 29 final in Colombo.

Dravid said the team had been boosted with the return of master batsman Sachin Tendulkar, who missed one-day series against England at home and then in the Caribbean due to a shoulder injury.

“His presence is important to all of us. It is good for us that he is around and looking forward to doing well in Sri Lanka,” said Dravid.

Tendulkar is the world's leading scorer in the shorter version of the game, with 14,146 runs in 362 matches with a record 39 centuries.

Dravid said a three-day training camp that concluded on Friday would also help the players in the long run.

“It cannot change you overnight, but it gives you something new to think about, some new experiences to think about. It will help them develop their personality and we will see the effects in the long term,” he said.

“We also had a session in Tai Chi, which is like yoga. We had heard about it and we wanted to experience it. I hope it benefits the boys.”—AFP