Gambhir's return a 'big relief' for Dhoni

With the top of the Indian batting order having struggled in the recently-concluded tri-series in Sri Lanka it was but natural to see Mahendra Singh Dhoni heave a sigh of relief on learning that opener Gautam Gambhir was declared fit for the ICC Champions Trophy.

"It's good that Gautam Gambhir is fit now; he will take responsibility at the top of the order. We have seen that whenever we get a good start we have batsmen in the middle order who can really make a difference. We perform well whenever we get good starts," India's captain said, ahead of the team's departure for South Africa, in Mumbai on Thursday.

Gambhir missed the tri-series, which India won, in Sri Lanka after sustaining a groin injury during training. The Delhi left-hander passed a fitness assessment in Mumbai under the supervision of physio Nitin Patel and coach Gary Kirsten.

Dhoni admitted that Gambhir's inclusion lends flexibility to the team and his recent consistent showing as an opener would be the key to India's success in ODIs.

"In the last one-and-half years we have been sharing the opening role with three openers in Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Sachin Tendulkar. So Gautam's return is a big relief, because he not only gives us a good start but he can also bat till the 50th over.

"It is important to be stable from one end, so the batsmen can play their natural game from the other end," Dhoni said.

He, however, reiterated that Virender Sehwag and Zaheer Khan would be missed during the Champions Trophy.

"Virender Sehwag will be missed, as he was an important part of our team as an opening batsman, while Zaheer Khan has performed well. So we will miss them."