Only World Cup in Sachin146;s sight

A shoulder that has failed to heal has given Sachin Tendulkar the best possible opportunity to remain away from the Test series against the West Indies that holds no importance per se in the batsman8217;s vision of playing a major role in the 2007 World Cup.

A shoulder that has failed to heal has given Sachin Tendulkar the best possible opportunity to remain away from the Test series against the West Indies that holds no importance per se in the batsman8217;s vision of playing a major role in the 2007 World Cup.

Ruling himself out of the Tests, after he underwent a series of 8216;tests8217; 8212; which fell short of the stringent tests that are conducted as standard by the Board 8212; at Mumbai, Tendulkar said: 8220;We have been trying hard. Andrew Leipus has been with me all the time and all my sessions were monitored. There is weakness in my arm. I am still not ready to compete at the international level. I will be going to London for further treatment.8221;

The four Tests against the West Indies are the only matches in the longer format of the game that India are scheduled to play before the World Cup.

And as the mega event draws close, India will be busy playing the ICC Champions Trophy and later a triangular series in Sri Lanka. For Tendulkar, who8217;s shoulder took its toll when he was playing the Test series against England, the Test series in the West Indies isn8217;t likely to hold any major importance apart from the fact that this could8217;ve been his last tour there.

Therefore, it was eventually left to the batsman to decide and take a call on what he felt about his own fitness condition after going through gruelling training session last week.

Tendulkar took it upon himself to let the waiting media know that he wasn8217;t yet in the fitness of things and would take some more time to do so. 8220;It8217;s difficult to set a time frame. I don8217;t know. I leave it to the doctors to guide me in the right direction,8217;8217; he said.

Apart from the fact that he batted at the nets, there was no other activity held that could define Tendulkar8217;s Tuesday stint here as a proper fitness test.

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8220;The was based on functional weakness. We don8217;t want him to do any further damage to his shoulder. We are looking at the big picture of his career,8221; Leipus said.