Sachin Tendulkar met with the Mumbai team that was practicing at the Brabourne stadium in Mumbai on Wednesday.

The master batsman, out of action because of a tennis elbow, had a long chat with Mumbai captain Sairaj Bahutule and coach Chandrakant Pandit, as the trio had a close look at the pitch being prepared for the Mumbai - Australia tour opener, starting at the venue on Thursday.

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He brushed aside reports that he came to the ground for a pep chat with the Ranji Trophy champions.

"There hasn't been any pep talk. I have just come here to wish them good luck," he said.

Mumbai has always been a tough hurdle for the Aussies. In their tour opener against Mumbai in 1998, the Australians lost by a whopping 10-wicket margin. In 2001, they escaped with a draw, their batsmen struggling to cope with the Mumbai bowlers.

Tendulkar, who last played for India in the final of the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka in August, said his elbow is responding to treatment.

"It is much better. I have been consulting with the doctors concerned and I am just going to do what they have asked me to do. We have had a couple of meetings where they found there has been tremendous improvement. We are just going to build it up gradually.

"I haven't practiced for almost close to six weeks now, so there has been muscle loss. I need to build up little strength and take it up gradually.

"The doctors have basically asked me to rest. Now I will start playing, which has also been advised by the doctors. They have asked me to take gradual steps. There is not enough strength in the elbow, as I have not done anything for six weeks, which was advised to me by the doctors. Just to build up some strength will take sometime," explained the batting ace.

He added that it is too soon to say whether he will play the first Test against the Australians.

"I am not ruling out playing the first Test. I am just waiting for the doctors to give me the green signal and will let them know how I feel and take it forward from there. I will speak to team physio Andrew Leipus who is in town. It will be nice if we could meet up somewhere," he said.

Tendulkar, who has scored 1789 runs at 57.70 in 19 Tests (seven centuries and six half-centuries) against Australia, dismissed any notion that his absence would severely hamper the team's chances in the upcoming Test series.

"The team has some big names and they have performed well in the past. Every team goes through ups and downs and we just need to pull up our socks and produce better cricket. I am sure about the abilities of all our players, because we have done that in the past and all we need to do is turn it around and produce some good cricket. We have extremely good players who have performed very well against Australia."

He rebuffed talk that using the heavier bat might have been one of the reasons for his injury.

"It wouldn't have taken 15 years to cause that. Yes, I would be using a lighter bat to start with."

On being questioned about how much practice he would need before the first Test, which starts in Bangalore on October 6, he replied: "As much as practice as possible. But the circumstances are such that I can't go and spend two hours at a stretch. I need to go step by step.

"I want to get back to playing because it's been a long time. These kinds of injuries are such that they take time to settle and I just consulting the doctors regularly and whatever they tell me I go by that."

He said he is moved by the response of cricket fans, who have come forward offering all types of cures for his tennis elbow.

"Yes, I have had plenty of people who came to me with cures and I really appreciate that because you need people support. It is nice to know that so many people wanted me to get back into action as early as possible and I am really grateful and want to thank them from the bottom of my heart.

"There have been plenty of phone calls and plenty of letters, saying 'you can do this, you can do that'. In the end, you feel good about it because so many people wanted to come forward and help me and that shows the support. "