Sachin to carry on despite a bad back

Sachin Tendulkar will be going to Pakistan despite having a stiff back. Tendulkar had skipped a net session on the first day of the conditioning camp in Kolkata because he wanted to rest his back, but the problem is reportedly too minor to threaten his particpation in the tour.

Andrew Leipus, India's physiotherapist, told Press Trust of India, "He [Tendulkar] was asked to take it easy on Sunday and he did not come out to field in the later half of the day on Monday [during a practice game]. The problem is very minor. These things are [a] part and parcel of cricket." Tendulkar has been undergoing physiotherapy under Leipus's guidance.

His discomfort showed through in the 45-overs-a-side practice game between the 12 members of the squad who were present at the camp. (Yuvraj Singh and Ashish Nehra were away playing in the Duleep Trophy final.) Tendulkar was given three outings with the bat in his team's innings, and made 0 in the first two, and a scratchy 4 in the third. Sourav Ganguly, on the other hand, was in fine form, repeatedly smashing the spinners into the empty stands.