Team India players during a practice session, in Dhaka, on Sunday. (AP)

Dhaka: Basking in the glory of an immensely successful 2009, India would be aiming to open their hectic new year with a bang when they take on subcontinent rivals Sri Lanka and Bangladesh in an ODI tri-series, beginning in Dhaka, on Monday.

The series-opener has the hosts taking on Sri Lanka and Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men would be in action against the Lankans on Tuesday.

India are a confident bunch having come here on the back of four series triumphs in 2009, the latest being the 3-1 win over Sri Lanka, and they would want to start the year with a bang.

India, who are currently second in the ICC ODI rankings, will also get a chance to narrow the gap with leaders Australia who are seven points ahead at 130. If India wins all their matches in the tri-series, and Australia are well beaten by Pakistan in their five-ODI series that follows the ongoing Tests, Dhoni’s team will rise to the top of the Reliance Mobile ICC ODI Championship table.

India have retained the core of the squad that had beaten Sri Lanka 3-1 in the home ODI series last month.

Pacers Ishant Sharma and Praveen Kumar, and left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha got the axe, while Sachin Tendulkar has been rested.

Middle-order batsman Rohit Sharma benefited from Tendulkar’s pullout, while leg-spinner Amit Mishra and pacer Ashok Dinda found places in the 16-member squad along with pacer Sreesanth who missed the ODI series against Sri Lanka due to swine flu.

Despite the hectic schedule, which has given them barely a week’s rest after the Sri Lanka series, Dhoni and his men are raring to go and maintain the winning momentum. “We are happy to play international cricket. It’s going to be a triangular series, it will be a bit more exciting. We are hoping this would be continuity to last series (against Sri Lanka),”Dhoni said.

Sri Lanka had a mixed 2009 having lost both home and away ODI series against India but won two series against Pakistan. They have come here with a new-look team with several of their big names including Muttiah Muralidharan, Sanath Jayasuriya and Mahela Jayawardene missing.

Jayasuriya, Chamara Kapugedera, fast bowler Lasith Malinga and spinner Ajantha Mendis have been dropped due to poor form in India while Jayawardene, Muralidharan, Angelo Mathews and Dilhara Fernando were left out due to injuries.

They have brought back batsman Chamara Silva after an impressive domestic season as also leg-spinner Malinga Bandara. Left-arm fast bowler Thushara also made a return to the side after a freak shoulder injury which forced him to return from India. Sri Lanka have also brought uncapped batsman Lahiru Thirimanne who had an impressive domestic season.

In the absence of some big players, Sri Lanka will have to depend a lot on in-form opening batsmen Tillekaratne Dilshan and Upul Tharanga, and captain Kumar Sangakkara to deliver the goods in the tri-series.

Bangladesh will also fancy their chances as they have done well in the past year having won 14 one-dayers out of the 19 they played though they have not faced top sides, save for Sri Lanka.

They had beaten a depleted West Indies in the Caribbean besides winning a home and away ODI series against Zimbabwe, making 2009 the best year in their cricketing history.

But they suffered a jolt when fast bowler Mashrafe Mortaza was ruled out of the tri-series after being named in the preliminary squad as captain. Mortaza failed to recover from his knee injury and Shakib-al Hasan, under whom Bangladesh won most of the series in 2009, will captain the side.

TEAMS

Sri Lanka (from): Kumar Sangakkara (capta), Tillekaratne Dilshan, Upul Tharanga, Thilan Samaraweera, Thilina Kandamby, Chamara Silva, Lahiru Thirimanne, Thissara Perera, Muthumudalige Pushpakumara, Malinga Bandara, Suraj Randiv, Thilan Thushara, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Kulasekara, Chanaka Welagedera.

Bangladesh (from): Shakib-al Hasan (capt.) Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammed Ashraful, Tamim Iqbal, Raqibul Hassan, Mahmud Ullah Riyad, Naeem Islam, Abdur Razzak, Syed Rasel, Shahadat Hossain, Rubel Hossain, Imrul Kayes, Shahriar Nafees, Aftab Ahmed, Shafiul Islam.