Whom will Tendulkar replace?

early nine months out of the one-day game, and into his 20th year of international cricket, the Sachin Tendulkar caravan just rumbles on and, on Sunday, it will give England something different to think about as they seek to stay alive in this seven-match series. After playing a significant role in India's 2-0 Test series win over Australia, Tendulkar opted for some rest, but Bangalore's Chinnaswamy Stadium will see his return to non-IPL coloured clothes.

A man with 42 centuries and 16,361 runs, and who redefined the opener's role in limited-overs cricket, should never have to prove anything but it'll be interesting to see how India re-jig their batting order to accommodate him. Great one-day batsmen have been either relentless accumulators or others impetuous destroyers. Tendulkar has combined both qualities to devastating effect ever since that Auckland morning when India decided to take a punt on him at the top of the order.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni gave every indication on Saturday afternoon that Tendulkar will open with Virender Sehwag, with Gautam Gambhir moving down to the No.3 slot that he made his own during the CB Series in Australia earlier this year.

"I'd prefer it if Sachin opens with Sehwag. We have tried that and you can say that is an option," said Dhoni. "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. He has played his part in Indian cricket and it's up to the emerging players to get the most out of him. The more he plays, the more it benefits the youngsters."

While some murmurs will be raised about the wisdom behind breaking up a pair - Sehwag and Gambhir - that has had so much success in recent times in both forms of the game, there's no denying that Tendulkar and Sehwag have quite a history. In 83 games together, they have combined for 10 century partnerships and 11 in excess of 50 while averaging 37.93. The only reason the duo didn't attract more attention was because Tendulkar and Sourav Ganguly were such an institution - 26 three-figure partnerships in 176 games.