NEW DELHI, Aug 31: India’s star batsman Sachin Tendulkar withdrew from next month’s Test series in Zimbabwe on Wednesday after failing to recover from an elbow injury, an official said.

“Tendulkar will not be going to Zimbabwe,” Indian cricket board secretary Karunakaran Nair told the Press Trust of India.

Rookie opener Dheeraj Jadhav will replace Tendulkar for the two Test matches in Bulawayo from Septr 13-17 and Harare from Sept 20-24, Nair said.

Tendulkar, 32, who underwent surgery in May to repair a tennis elbow, had been provisionally picked for the Test series even though he missed the ongoing one-day tri-series in Zimbabwe also featuring New Zealand.

But the most prolific batsman in the modern game with 23,776 international runs and 72 centuries opted out despite rigorous training at the nets in his home city of Mumbai.

It was not immediately clear if Tendulkar will be able to represent the World team in the International Cricket Council’s Super Series against Australia in October.—AFP