Sachin sweats it out on day two in bid to get back into team

Chennai, May 16 (UNI)Ace batsman Sachin Tendulkar, recovering from a shoulder injury, took another step forward in his bid to make it to the Test series in the West Indies as he faced rigorous fitness tests for the second day at the MRF Pace Foundation here today.

Sachin, began his six-day long programme yesterday on his arrival from Mumbai, under head coach of the MRF Foundation T A Sekhar and physio Ramji Srinivasan in the state-of-the-art gym at the Pace Foundation. The master -blaster had some batting practise in the nets under the watchful eyes of fomer India physio Andrew Leipus, who was sent by the BCCI to assess his progress.

''We worked on strengthening his shoulder muscles , anterior and posterior, right and left for coordination. The fitness regimen was also to strengthen his abdominal muscles,'' Ramji said.

In between his stint in the gym, Sachin also batted for about 20 minutes in the nets with a few MRF trainees and India pacer Laxmipathi Balaji, who himself was subjected to physical fitness test in Mumbai by the cricket Board last week, bowled to Sachin from half pitch.

Leipus said he would be working with Sachin till Friday.

Sachin, who told newsmen last night that the recovery process from the injury was satisfactory, said that he would be addressing the press on his stint at the Foundation on May 19.

Press photographers and television cameramen filmed the workout focussing through the grills of the windows around the gym.

A large number of young Sachin fans thronged the ground at the Foundation to get his autograph.

The fitness report on Sachin, L Balaji and opening batsman Wasim Jaffer have to be submitted to the selection committee by May 22.

The squad for the four Test matches West Indies is expected to be announced a day or two after that.

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