Tendulkar to miss three-day Test warm-up

Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar will miss a three-day game against Australia this week with a calf muscle injury but will be back for the first Test.

"It is a minor thing. He will be fit for the Test with Australia," Ratnakar Shetty, joint secretary of the Bombay Cricket Association said.

India's first Test against Australia begins on February 27 in Bombay.

Tendulkar sprained a calf muscle during the training camp in Madras on Sunday.

Officials had said he would miss a three-day game between national champions Mumbai and Australia, starting in Bombay on Thursday.

Shetty said Andrew Leipus, the Indian team's South African physiotherapist, had advised Tendulkar to take five days' rest as a precaution.

"Coach John Wright also rang us up. He didn't want to take any chance with fitness," he said.

Wiry paceman Ajit Agarkar, who also plays for Bombay, will miss the three-day game as well because of an ankle strain, he said.

Three years ago, Tendulkar scored his maiden first-class double century -- 204 not out -- in leading Bombay to victory over Australia in a three-day game that set the tone for India's 2-1 win in a three-test series.

The batsman scored 446 runs in five test innings including two centuries for a series average of 111.50.

Mail Cricket Editor