Tendulkar Might Be Rested For The 2nd ODI Vs Srilanka at Perth

Sachin Tendulkar's drawn-out quest for his 100th international century may be put temporarily on hold, with the little maestro a chance to miss out on Wednesday's one-dayer against Sri Lanka at the WACA Ground.

With India keen to give their top three batsmen a rest at some point during the triangular series, either Tendulkar or Gautam Gambhir will be excused from playing duties in Perth.

Tendulkar has been stranded on 99 international centuries for almost 11 months now, with the pressure building on him as each chance passes him by.

Virender Sehwag, who was rested from the opening one-dayer but will return in Perth, said the rotation policy would ensure players such as Tendulkar remained as fresh as possible following a hectic tour of Australia.

"When you're playing continuously with four Test matches then two T20s and then one-dayers, the body is fatigued and the mental break is also good for a player," Sehwag said on Tuesday.

"That's why we decided the top three would always rotate and we can give breaks to Tendulkar, Gambhir or Sehwag and then all the extras can play because they've just arrived here."

Sehwag said the team had sent their well wishes to team-mate Yuvraj Singh, who is undergoing chemotherapy treatment in the US after being diagnosed with cancer.

"We're all praying for Yuvraj and hoping that he'll come back soon and can come out of whatever problems he's having and come back to playing as soon as possible," Sehwag said.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka vice-captain Angelo Mathews hopes he and his team-mates, who are still owed millions of dollars by the country's cash-strapped cricket board, will get paid soon.

Mathews said the team was playing purely for the love of the game while they await payment.

"Eventually we'll get paid, but the cricket board has been trying to sort out the situation," Mathews said.

"Hopefully they'll come up with a good answer in the near future."

Sri Lanka cricket has gone through a turbulent time in recent weeks, with Geoff Marsh sacked as coach and replaced by Graham Ford, and Tillakaratne Dilshan stripped of the captaincy in favour of Mahela Jayawardene.

Mathews has been groomed as the country's future skipper, and believed Jayawardene was the perfect man to lead the side in the interim.

"I think it's the correct decision from Mahela, because he's a seasoned campaigner and knows what has to be done to steady the ship."

© SMH