Instead of the usual four-hour bus drive on undulating roads from Colombo, the 15-man squad and the support staff were air-lifted to Dambulla, the flight lasting no more than a half-hour and offering a whole new and exciting experience to a young squad missing several regulars due to one reason or the other.
The one-day squad wears a totally new look with nine members who were a part of the Test series having already returned home at various stages of the tour. The last batch of seven left Colombo a little after midnight on Saturday, just ten hours after the Indians completed a five-wicket win in the final Test at the P Sara Oval.
With Sunday being a travel day and their kit and other pieces of baggage making the longer road trip, the Indians had the day off. They will resume practice mode on Monday ahead of the tournament opener against New Zealand on Tuesday.
The Kiwis too are here after wrapping up their warm-up routine with an impressive win over a Board XI in Pallikele on Saturday. Minus skipper Daniel Vettori, Brendon McCullum and problem child Jesse Ryder, the Kiwis wear a depleted look, not unlike India, who too are without influential players Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Zaheer Khan and Harbhajan Singh.
Sri Lanka, who play their first match on Friday against the Kiwis, will assemble here on Tuesday, though skipper Kumar Sangakkara will be present at the official launch of the tournament at the team hotel on Monday afternoon.