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Tendulkar ruled out of final Test against South Africa

05/04/2008

Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar has been ruled out of the final Test against South Africa after failing to recover from injury in time.

Tendulkar injured his groin during the first match of the series, which ended in a draw, and has not been playing in the current match in Ahmedabad.

Despite India's poor form in his absence, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), have said their star batsman will not be rushed back into the starting line-up.

"Tendulkar will be unavailable for selection for the third Test due to his right groin injury," BCCI spokesman Niranjan Shah said in a statement.

"He is making good progress but he has not recovered sufficiently.

"This decision has been taken to give him the opportunity to make a full recovery from this injury. He has a rehabilitation programme to continue with and will be monitored closely."

There had been injury concerns over the 34-year-old since his return from the tour of Australia. Tendulkar has been blighted with injuries over recent years and former team physio John Gloster suggested he should be rested for the South Africa series.

Tendulkar will now hope to regain his fitness ahead of the lucrative Indian Premier League which begins on April 18th.

His next likely appearance for his country will be in the Test series against Sri Lanka in July when he will hope to surpass Brian Lara's record of most Test runs – the Indian needs just 172 more runs to move ahead of Lara.