India captain Anil Kumble admits MS Dhoni is a big loss for the Sri Lanka tour but says his team will rise up to the challenge.

The 27-year-old one-day skipper asked not to be included as he felt he needed a break from cricket with the scheduling of the Asia Cup meaning he had to play back-to-back matches shortly after leading the Chennai Super Kings to the final of the Indian Premier League.

"We will definitely miss our regular wicketkeeper MS Dhoni. However he knows how his body and mind is reacting." said Kumble. "As for the bowling, we have the firepower to challenge any batting line-up. We are aware of the challenges on this tour and are very confident of facing up to them."

He added: "We have a very strong batting line-up here with our top order having amassed more than 30,000 runs, obviously we will want to play well as it is an important series."

Kumble's Sri Lankan counterpart Mahela Jayawardene is relishing the prospect of facing India and heads into the series harbouring happy memories of previous encounters between the nations.

"A series against India is always important," said Jayawardene. "It is very special for me to play against India as I have made a double hundred against them and also made my debut against them.

"It is a very tough series but again we need to focus on the job in hand as every day is a new day and every game is a new game."