Exclusive Pics : Sachin Tendulkar at a Training Session in Eden Gardens May 23, 2013

Sachin Tendulkar is unlikely to play in Mumbai Indians' IPL Qualifier 2 in Kolkata on Friday against the Rajasthan Royals as he is yet to recover from his left-wrist injury he sustained in a match against Sunrisers Hyderabad last week.

"Sachin Tendulkar has injured his left wrist and hand while batting in the game against SRH on 13th May. On investigations we have found that there is some swelling in the wrist and around one of the tendons of his left hand," Mumbai Indians said in a statement.

"We have addressed this with an injection in his hand by a hand and wrist specialist. He is currently under rehab and is progressing well. The normal recovery time for this injury is around 3 weeks, however rehab results in the past 9 days have shown reasonable improvements and we are hopeful to get him back in action as soon as possible," the statement said.

Mumbai Indians also said that pacer Dhawal Kulkarni will no longer take part in the tournament.

"Dhawal has sustained a side-strain during the game against Kings XI Punjab in Dharamshala on 18th May. He will take about 6 weeks to recover completely and has been ruled out of the rest of the tournament."

Mumbai lost the Qualifier 1 against Chennai Super Kings by 48 runs in Delhi on Tuesday night.

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Pics : Sachin Tendulkar at a Training Session at Dharmasala | May 17, 2013

Among the top five batsmen for Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League this season, Dinesh Karthik feels Ricky Ponting has had a great influence on his performance. The Australian legend gave up the Mumbai captaincy due to a lack of form, but according to Karthik, has made a significant contribution in the dressing room.

Karthik (388 runs) is Mumbai Indians' second best batsman behind Rohit Sharma (430) and this season has been a lot better than 2012. Careful planning and playing to a situation have been Karthik's route to success. In a team that has hitters like Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Smith and Sachin Tendulkar, Karthik has been happy to play second foil.

"When you know there are some big-hitting batsmen in the middle-order who can tonk the ball a mile, your role gets easier because you just try and get them on strike. When they are not around, you have the license to hit the big ones as well," Karthik told the iplt20.com website.(Old Interview)

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Sachin Tendulkar is one of the most difficult batsmen to bowl at : Dale Steyn

Dale Steyn, the world's most feared pacer, on Tuesday backed his country South Africa to come out trumps in the three-Test series against India to be held at the end of this year, but was also wary of the quality of the opposing batting line-up.

"We have got a pretty good Test side at the moment, to be fair, and we play quite well at home. I would like to say that we would win it. Coming to South Africa, it is a difficult place to play cricket," said the world's highest rated bowler.

"Wickets here are lot flatter than what it is in South Africa. It does make it a little bit difficult for the Indian batsmen. However, cricket is a funny game and India has got some fantastic players. Shikhar Dhawan is batting nicely and they have got some great players. We will wait for the next couple of months and see what happens," said Steyn at a gaming centre "Smaash" in Mumbai.

India drew the Test series 1-1 during their previous tour of South Africa in 2010-11.

The pace spearhead of Indian Premier League team Sunrisers Hyderabad also heaped praise on Sachin Tendulkar and said the senior batsman is one of the most difficult batsmen to bowl at.

"There was a time in Nagpur (2009-10 Test series) and I was bowling to Sachin, it felt like when I was bowling to all the other batters, I was going past the bat and finding the edge, I was bamboozling them with in-swing and away-swing.

"But Sachin knew exactly what I was going to bowl before I even started running. He had me covered. He did his homework on me and he knew exactly what was coming. There is no worse feeling in knowing that whatever I threw at him, he had the arsenal to combat. That was quite difficult," Steyn said.

He was referring to the opening Test of the two-match series in February, 2010 that was won by the Proteas by an innings despite Tendulkar's superb century in the second innings after India had followed on.

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Pics : Sachin Tendulkar at a Training Session at Pune | May 10, 2013

Among the top five batsmen for Mumbai Indians in the Indian Premier League this season, Dinesh Karthik feels Ricky Ponting has had a great influence on his performance. The Australian legend gave up the Mumbai captaincy due to a lack of form, but according to Karthik, has made a significant contribution in the dressing room.

Karthik (388 runs) is Mumbai Indians' second best batsman behind Rohit Sharma (430) and this season has been a lot better than 2012. Careful planning and playing to a situation have been Karthik's route to success. In a team that has hitters like Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Smith and Sachin Tendulkar, Karthik has been happy to play second foil.

"When you know there are some big-hitting batsmen in the middle-order who can tonk the ball a mile, your role gets easier because you just try and get them on strike. When they are not around, you have the license to hit the big ones as well," Karthik told the iplt20.com website.

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Sachin Tendulkar is a Strong Character : Sanath Jayasuriya

Former Sri Lanka captain Sanath Jayasuriya today said senior India cricketer Sachin Tendulkar should be allowed the freedom to take a call on his retirement from the Test format.

"It's an individual decision. Sachin should decide on that. Nobody can decide. In India a lot of opinions are there.

I think we should give him the chance. It is all up to him. It depends on his body and mind," Jayasuriya told PTI here.

The former opener, who is now Sri Lanka's chief national selector, added that Tendulkar was experienced enough and called him a strong character.

"He must be going through a lot of pressure. He is experienced and is a strong character. He will decide," the Lankan said.

Tendulkar retired from the ODI format last December.

Jayasuriya was in the city to promote his country as the brand ambassador of Sri Lanka tourism.

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Sachin Tendulkar an ideal role model for young cricketers, feels Javed Miandad

Emphasising the importance of hard work, former captain Javed Miandad told the Pakistan players to look up to Sachin Tendulkar, who he says is an embodiment of commitment to the game of cricket.

Miandad while talking to Pakistan players, preparing for the Champions Trophy in Abbotabad, said there was no replacement for hard work.

"It has been a good experience working with these players and I have told them that no matter how much coaching or advice you are given nothing can replace the individual hard work you put into your game everyday. I gave them the example of Sachin Tendulkar who is still playing Test cricket only because of his commitment and the individual hard work he puts into his game," Miandad said.

"I think he is an ideal role model for the present generation because of his achievements and if they want to be successful batsmen and players," Miandad added.

He pointed out that cricket was a sport in which everything depends on the individual.

"Batting is something you learn about everyday and it is absolutely necessary to keep on practicing and working hard everyday. No matter how talent you are everyday and every match is a new challenge," Miandad, who is a Director-General in the PCB, said.

"I used to practice every day even when we had no team commitments. Whatever best I can advise and give tips I have given to these players but the rest is up to them how they utilize them," the former captain said.

He asserted that one could never say he had achieved perfection in batting because in every new match there was a different pitch and conditions.

"Tendulkar has been successful because he has followed this policy and worked hard to maintain his game and fitness," he said.

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Sachin Tendulkar only Indian to feature in Alec Stewart's dream Test team

Sachin Tendulkar is the only Indian to make it to the Test dream team drawn up by former England captain Alec Stewart from among players against whom he had played in his career.
 
"The 'Little Master' is a no-brainer for his extraordinary run-scoring over such a long period of time and the way he has dealt with the pressure of being India's number one sporting icon," Stewart told BBC Sport.
 
"I remember a brilliant 165 in his hometown of Mumbai in 1993 and 193 at Headingley almost a decade later. When he got in, his bat just seemed to get wider and wider," added the channel's Test Match Special summariser as part of a special feature.
 
Two other Indians -- Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble -- made it to Stewart's broader squad but missed out in the final Test XI.
 
Stewart, whose Test XI would be captained by Australian Steve Waugh, said West Indian Brian Lara was the best batsman he has played against. His team does not include former Australian captain Ricky Ponting nor the legendary batsman Vivian Richards while the latter's West Indian contemporaries Gordon Greenidge and Malcolm Marshall find places.
 
Richards and Marshall played their last Test together in 1991 while Greenidge quit the same year but a few months before them.
 
Stewart explained Richards' omission on the ground that the legendary West Indian's "very best days were just behind him by the time I made my Test debut in 1990".
 
"During my 14-year career as an international cricketer, I came up against some of the finest players in the history of the game, so to select an XI has not been an easy task.
 
"I have tried to stick to those who made the greatest impression on matches in which I played," added the English wicketkeeper-batsman who played 133 Tests between 1990 and 2003.
 
Stewart chose West Indies' Gordon Greenidge and Australia's Matthew Hayden as his openers, followed by Brian Lara, who he describes as the "best batsman I played against bar none".
 
"He won games single-handedly and his appetite for scoring huge runs I was on the receiving end of his incredible 375 in Antigua was insatiable. He looked as though he had come from another planet to teach us all how to bat," Stewart said about Lara.
 
The only other representative from the Indian sub-continent is Pakistani pacer Wasim Akram for his "genius with the new and old ball".
 
"There have not been many quicker bowlers than Wasim Akram. He had a dangerous bouncer, was a great competitor and could score handy runs down the order," says Stewart.
 
The rest of the Dream XI is made up of Jacques Kallis from South Africa, Australians Steve Waugh - who would captain the imaginary side, Adam Gilchrist (as wicketkeeper) and Shane Warne with West Indians Malcolm Marshall and Curtly Ambrose completing the bowling attack.
 
"A genuine world-class XI in my opinion but one that was extremely tricky to put together. Like all good selectors, I started out by naming a squad before whittling it down to a starting XI," said Stewart, who named two other Indian cricketing greats -- Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble -- among the long list that "pained me to have to leave out".

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