Tendulkar to miss West Indies tour

Sachin Tendulkar breaks the news to the media in Mumbai © AFP

Sachin Tendulkar has ruled himself out of India's tour to the West Indies after deciding not to undergo a scheduled fitness test in Mumbai this morning. Tendulkar, who had been operated on for a shoulder tear in the last week of March, had been training hard to regain playing fitness in order to make it to the Test squad which will be announced tomorrow.

However, the much-anticipated fitness test, scheduled to be conducted under the supervision of Andrew Leipus, the former physiotherapist to the Indian team who has been overseeing Tendulkar's rehabilitation process, did not take place, and Tendulkar infomed the Indian board that he should not be considered for selection.

Speaking to reporters, Tendulkar said, "We have been trying hard. Andrew Leipus has been with me all the time and all my sessions were monitored. There is weakness in my arm. I am not still ready to compete at the international level. I will be going to London for further treatment."

Leipus told Cricinfo (click here to listen to him on Cricinfo Audio) that Tendulkar was desperate to get back but was also aware of the risks of a premature move. "I don't think there was any doubt that he wanted to get back and play and that is a very strong driving force - that desire to get back is pretty motivating factor in terms of the lengths of recovery. If you are very positive to getting back as quickly as possible then you will get back as quickly possible. You'll get back quicker than someone who is very negative or very scared about moving.

"So in that respect he has done very, very well to get where he is in such a short period of time. At this stage, though, he just functionally doesn't have that strength to be comfortable about playing all his shots. He understands that his focus isn't completely on what the bowler is doing, there are other issues at the back of his mind, which means that the rehabilitation process hasn't been completed yet."

Tendulkar was unsure about how long the treatment is likely to take, or indeed when he will regain full fitness. When asked, he said "It's a difficult question. I don't know. I leave it to the doctors to guide me in the right direction. The doctor will be in touch with the board." Tendulkar will leave for London tonight to consult with Andrew Wallace, the doctor who operated on his shoulder.

Leipus said that Tendulkar needed to rest and recuperate, instead of over-exerting himself with training. "Primarily the decision has been based on functional weakness, not on performance basis. We don't want him to do any further damage to his shoulder. We are looking at the big picture of his career. Recovery is important. He can't just keep training - he has to rest in order to get his body stronger."

He also revealed that the decision was a joint one. "A player's opinion is critical, so it was a joint decision. He understood that he wasn't quite comfortable in what he was doing in the nets and I just supported that by what I saw in the gym and functionally in the other tests I did with him. It was a tough decision from a point of the view of keeping the player away from play but it was an easy decision to make in terms of physical assessment," Leipus said.

Niranjan Shah, the BCCI secretary, said that the board was keen to have Tendulkar in the team as soon as possible and his rehabilitation process will be reviewed in two to three weeks time by the team management.

Tendulkar's shoulder ruled him out of the recent ODI series against England and is a further blow in what has been an injury-plagued period in his career; the problem comes on the back of a tennis elbow he suffered last season. The injuries have been compounded by a relative lack of success on the field.

Meanwhile, Wasim Jaffer, the Indian opener who made his comeback in the series against England, is available for selection after he passed a fitness test following a shin surgery. "We looked at it [Jaffer's fitness test] from the point of view of his legs and he is fit," Leipus said. "He was slightly out of breath today because he is recovering from viral fever." Jaffer, who scored his first Test hundred at Nagpur against England in March this year, is likey to be selected as opener, ahead of the inexperienced Robin Uthappa. The tour to West Indies will be Jaffer's second, having played there in 2002 under Sourav Ganguly's captaincy.

The four-Test series begins in Antigua on June 2.

To listen to Sambit Bal's views on Tendulkar in Cricinfo Audio, click here.

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