Tendulkar to return to action in September

Sachin Tendulkar is expected to play for the national champions Mumbai against a Rest of India side on September 18 - his first outing since undergoing hand surgery after the World Cup.

Tendulkar, 30, damaged the ring finger of his left hand while attempting a catch last November. It did not hinder him in the slightest during a magnificent World Cup campaign, in which he was named Man of the Tournament for his 673 runs in 11 games, but he opted out of a subsequent trip to Bangladesh and flew to Baltimore, USA for an operation.

The fixture is India's traditional domestic-season opener, and many Indian players are keen to use it as a warm-up for their international programme. India have had a lengthy lay-off since April, but return to action with two Tests against New Zealand in October, before taking on Australia in a triangular one-day tournament.

Tendulkar is the highest scorer in the history of one-day cricket with 12,219 runs in 314 games. He has also made 8,811 runs in 105 Tests, including 31 centuries - a total exceeded only by Sunil Gavaskar.