MUMBAI, Feb 6: Sachin Tendulkar's absence stands out glaringly as India's rusty cricketers flex their limbs from Monday to prepare for next month's highly-anticipated series against Pakistan.
Tendulkar, the most prolific batsman in contemporary cricket with 34 Test and 37 one-day centuries, has still not fully recovered from a tennis elbow injury sustained in August last year.
The 31-year-old, who last played in Bangladesh in December, was advised by doctors not to pick up a bat for six weeks, a period that ends in mid-February.
Tendulkar will miss the Challenger one-day series, featuring the country's top 36 players, which starts here on Monday, and a major part of the subsequent inter-zonal Duleep Trophy first-class tournament. But sources close to the star player indicate that Tendulkar will be fit to play in the Test series against Pakistan starting on March 4.
Kapil Dev
If Sachin Tendulkar is not able to play against Pakistan in the coming home series due to an elbow injury, others should "share the burden" and not "sit and cry" over his absence, says former India captain Kapil Dev.
Asked if Tendulkar's absence would be a disadvantage for India in the series starting Feb 25, Kapil said, "Well, with a player of his calibre, definitely (yes). But you are not going to sit and cry over that."
"He did fairly well playing for 15-16 years at a stretch," he said about the Mumbai player who has scored 9,879 runs in 120 Tests and 13,497 more runs in 342 one-day internationals.
Kapil said the team should look ahead and it was time for other players to start delivering as well. "You cannot depend on one player. Even though he is a very important player, it will be wrong for the team to depend so much on him. If he's not fit, he's not fit," said Kapil.-Agencies
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