A final decision on whether Sachin Tendulkar will be available for the final ODI in Auckland will be taken closer to the game, team manager, Niranjan Shah said. “I don’t know,” Shah said on Tuesday afternoon when asked if Tendulkar was in doubt for the final game as well. “We will again do all tests and then decide, because there are 4-5 days before the next match.”
Tendulkar, who made a cracking 163 in Christchurch on Sunday, has been ruled out of Wednesday’s match with a sore abdomen and slight internal bleeding in the stomach.
“Yesterday, we had done ultrasound scan on him, there was some swelling and bruising,” Shah said in the first official fitness update since the team arrived in New Zealand 18 days ago. “It was advised that he would be better off not playing tomorrow’s match. We will progressively monitor his progress over the next few days.”
Tendulkar, who is striking the ball better than he has in recent ODI series, must be disappointed at having to sit out this time, especially given how good the conditions at Seddon Park are likely to be for batting.