Tendulkar backs out of West Indies tour

BANGALORE, India (CMC):

Batting legend Sachin Tendulkar has opted out of India's Test tour of the Caribbean, one of four key players that will miss the series which begins next month.

The right-hander, considered the finest batsman of the contemporary era, was not included in the 16-man squad, with Indian officials explaining that he had chosen to spend time with his family.

"Sachin Tendulkar requested that he be allowed to spend time with his family," India Board secretary N Srinivasan said in a media release.

"He will therefore not play the Test series (in the West Indies). However, he will be available for the full tour of England that follows."

On the sidelines

Tendulkar will be joined on the sidelines by Gautam Gambhir, Virender Sehwag and Yuvraj Singh, who are all injured or ill.

With regular captain MS Dhoni rested, Gambhir was expected to lead India's one-day side for the five-match series against the Windies, but has now been replaced by Suresh Raina.

Combative off-spinner Harbhajan Singh will serve as Raina's vice-captain, while batsmen Manoj Tiwary and Shikhar Dhawan have been added to the squad.

"Gautam Gambhir will be unavailable for the full tour on account of his shoulder injury," the media release continued.

"Yuvraj Singh will also be unavailable for the full tour. He is suffering from upper respiratory tract infection with a small patch of pneumonitis in the left lung."

Dhoni will lead the Test squad which includes the experienced Rahul Dravid and seamer Zaheer Khan, neither of whom have been selected for the ODI series.

India open their tour with a Twenty20 International in Trinidad and Tobago on June 4, before playing five one-dayers and three Tests.

SQUADS:

TEST - MS Dhoni (captain), VVS Laxman (vice captain), M Vijay, Abhinav Mukund, Rahul Dravid, Virat Kohli, S Badrinath, Harbhajan Singh, Ishant Sharma, S Sreesanth, Amit Mishra, Pragyan Ojha, Zaheer Khan, Munaf Patel, Suresh Raina, Parthiv Patel.

ODI - Suresh Raina (captain), Ravi Ashwin, Subramaniam Badrinath, Harbhajan Singh (vice captain), Virat Kohli, Praveen Kumar, Amit Mishra, Munaf Patel, Parthiv Patel (WK), Yusuf Pathan, Wriddhiman Saha, Ishant Sharma, Rohit Sharma, Vinay Kumar, Manoj Tiwary, Shikhar Dhawan.