IPL 2013 playoffs: Mumbai Indians sweat over Sachin Tendulkar's fitness

Sachin Tendulkar, who hasn't been part of the Mumbai Indians playing XI in their last three Pepsi Indian Premier League 2013 matches due to a wrist injury, is racing against time to regain fitness as Mumbai attempt to win their maiden IPL title. The franchise said Tendulkar had some swelling in his wrist and tendons, but was "progressing well".

The most recent match Tendulkar missed was Mumbai's qualifier against Chennai Super Kings in New Delhi on Tuesday (May 21). Mumbai's next match is against Rajasthan Royals in the second qualifier on Friday, and if they win that, they will face Chennai in Sunday's final. (Also read Spot-fixing: Sreesanth's lawyer accuses police of deliberate leaks)

Tendulkar was batting on 38 from 31 balls in the match against Sunrisers Hyderabad in Mumbai on May 13 when he complained of a pain in his left wrist and retired hurt. Mumbai went on to win the match by seven wickets. Since then, Aditya Tare has opened the innings in Tendulkar's absence, hitting one half-century in an aggregate of 88 runs from three games so far.

"We have found that there is some swelling in the wrist and around one of the tendons of his left hand," said Mumbai Indians in a statement. "He is currently under rehab and is progressing well. The normal recovery time for this injury is around three weeks. However, rehab results in the past nine days have shown reasonable improvements and we are hopeful to get him back in action as soon as possible."

Tendulkar had a middling IPL VI season, scoring 287 runs from 14 outings at an average of 22.07 and a strike rate of 124.24, with a highest score of 54.

Meanwhile, Dhawal Kulkarni has also been ruled out of the remainder of IPL VI. "Dhawal sustained a side-strain during the game against Kings XI Punjab in Dharamsala on May 18. He will take about six weeks to recover completely and has been ruled out of the rest of the tournament," said the statement.