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I am looking forward to play: Tendulkar

Source:PTI
May 16, 2006 00:12 IST

Sachin Tendulkar on Monday expressed satisfaction with his recovery after the shoulder operation and said he was looking forward to play in the West Indies.

"That is the reason I am in Chennai, training at the MRF. I always wanted to be there (West Indies). I am looking forward to the tour. You have to wait and see," Tendulkar told reporters on the sidelines of a function here.

Tendulkar said the injury he suffered was complicated but said that doctors and the team support staff are happy with the way he has responded during the rehabilitation period.

"The injury was a bit more complicated than what the doctors and myself thought. Initially it was thought it is going to be a shoulder surgery but my tendons were also operated on.

The rehabilitation and preparation have been good. The doctor and the physio have been quite happy with my progress," Tendulkar, who was made the brand ambassador of Reynolds pens, said while interacting with the press.

Tendulkar, however, said that the final picture of whether he would tour West Indies or not will get clear only after the fitness test.

"At this moment, I do not want to say whether I would be going to the West Indies for the Test series because there is a fitness test in Mumbai and before that I do not want to say anything. So far it has been good. We just have to wait and see," the master batsman added.

On the importance of West Indies tour, Tendulkar said, "It is an exciting tour. Playing cricket is exciting, to be short and sweet. Either you play in West Indies or New Zealand or South Africa, you do not want to miss cricket.

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Tendulkar also said that Brian Lara wanted him to visit the West Indies.

"We had lunch together in Mumbai. He is looking forward to my visit to the West Indies. I hope he is a good host.

On being asked about his experiences in the West Indies, and the chances of the present side, Tendulkar said that the team has the firepower to put on a good show.

"I think if I am not mistaken, we had won the one-day series in West Indies last time and losing at Barbados was a nightmare. It took me long, long time to overcome that. There are certain things which are kept aside in order to move on with cricket."

But I am sure that our present team will put up a very good performance. I have no doubt in my mind that we will come back with flying colours," he said.

When asked about ICC's new rule to allow LBW decisions to be overruled by television umpires, Tendulkar said that it was just being introduced at the experimentation stage right now.

"It is an experiment that has not been tried out yet. We have tried so many things in the past. But before putting them into practice, I am in no position to say anything on that."

On being asked whether the new rule would make the field umpires dummies, Tendulkar said everyone would have a different take on the issue.

"It becomes rather difficult for me to answer. You are saying that Mr. Venkataraghavan had commented that way. But I was not part of that conversation.

"If you are going to ask three more umpires there will be three more opinions. We just have to wait and give time for such experiments to settle."

Tendulkar also said that it was too early to talk about the World Cup and the team should not start playing keeping that in mind.

"World Cup is ten months away from now. It is too early to start thinking about it. About 17 or 18 players would be considered for the World Cup. But to start playing right away for the World Cup is not the right thing to do. But at the back of our mind it should be there."

Source: PTI
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