Tendulkar 'very hopeful' of being fit for Nagpur Test

The batting maestro said the pain in his left elbow had gone down considerably and he intended to start nets 'in three or four days'.

Batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar on Saturday said he was "very hopeful" of playing in the third cricket Test against Australia starting in Nagpur on October 26 since the pain in his left elbow had gone down considerably.

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"I saw Dr Anant Joshi (Cricket Board-appointed sports medicine expert) yesterday. It's much better now. The pain has gone down considerably and am very hopeful of playing in the next Test," Tendulkar said on Saturday.

Asked when he intended to start practising, the ace batsman said "in three or four days. I have been practising indoors with tennis balls."

The champion batsman, who has not played for nearly two months now because of an elbow injury, said he has been following a rehabilitation programme chalked out for him.

"I have been following a programme that I have been given by physio Andrew Leipus and the trainer (Gregory King). That has helped in strengthening the muscles," Tendulkar added.

Tendulkar has missed the Holland tri-series in August, the three-match NatWest Series against England, the ICC Champions Trophy in England and the first two Tests in the ongoing series against Australia.

He has so far missed five Tests in his glittering career that began in 1989, having been out of action when India last toured Sri Lanka for a three-Test series in 2001.

A veteran of 114 Tests, he is just 30 short of the 9500-run mark.