Tendulkar set to return

Sachin Tendulkar could open the innings for the hosts alongside Virender Sehwag

India captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni is ready to unleash Sachin Tendulkar on England in the fourth one-day international in Bangalore.

The hosts secured convincing wins in the first three matches of the seven-game series and would claim an overall triumph over Kevin Pietersen's side should they win at the Chinnaswamy Stadium in the first day-night clash.

Tendulkar declared himself unavailable for the first three matches as he had opted to rest, with the one-dayers against England coming on the heels of the Border-Gavaskar Test series against Australia.

Following India's victory over England in the third match at Kanpur, the selectors made two changes to the India squad for the next two games.

Tendulkar and swing bowler Irfan Pathan were included, while the uncapped Murali Vijay and RP Singh were dropped.

Dhoni has indicated Tendulkar will open the batting alongside Virender Sehwag and feels the inclusion of the world's highest run-scorer will not hinder the team's winning momentum.

"It's always a pleasure to have Sachin in the side no matter which venue or opposition," Dhoni said.

"With the amount of experience he has got, he can guide the batsmen and the bowlers especially at the start of the batting powerplay. I think he would be a great help for the bowlers who are on at that point in time.

"Usually I do not announce the playing XI a day before the match, but there is a good chance Sachin will open the innings. I would prefer it if Sachin opens with Sehwag.

"We have tried that and you can say that is an option. It's a good prospect that Gautam (Gambhir) will shift to number three in the batting.

"Yes, tampering with a successful line-up is something you have to think twice before doing, but you also have to see the quality of the player coming in.

"Sachin needed a bit of rest and he is the person who knows his body the best. We want him to play as long as possible and whenever he is available he should play.

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"He has played his part in Indian cricket and it's up to the upcoming players to get the most out of him. The more he plays, the more it benefits the youngsters."

Dhoni insisted Tendulkar is fully fit and could be called on to bowl as well, but believes his team have enough resources and could do without Tendulkar's gentle medium pace.

"As of now Sachin is 110 per cent fit," Dhoni said. "He can bowl, but the others have shared the pressure.

"We are not in too much need for Sachin to bowl, but he is open to that.

"We have the bowlers and they have done an excellent good job, but Sachin is always there if the need arises."

Dhoni indicated that the players left out of his team would be used later in the series, but his first priority is a series triumph.

"We are only thinking about the game that is coming up," Dhoni said. "We are really not too bothered with what has happened in the series so far or the previous series.

"Off course, it's a good thing we have won three games, but you have to start all over again in this game.

"If we can win one more game, we can seal the series. Our priority is to win the series and if we can do it here or in the next game it then gives us a bit of freedom to give the guys who are not part of the first XI a chance to go out there and play in the next few games. It would be good exposure for them.

"Zaheer (Khan) has been bowling his heart out and he has been bowling consistently well. He needs rest since he has been playing for a consistently long period of time."

Dhoni added: "We are not over-confident.

"We just want to concentrate on the things that we have been doing well such as the preparation and execution of plans."