Who's fooling who?

By Paul Grunill
BBC Sport

The reason for India's indifferent form in recent weeks can, according to some, be summed up in two words - Sachin Tendulkar.

Tendulkar has been undergoing intensive treatment for tennis elbow

Ever since he was ordered to rest a sore left elbow, the team have failed to reproduce the panache which carried them to Test and one-day series wins in Pakistan earlier this year.

Imagine therefore the relief felt by millions of cricket-mad Indian supporters when Tendulkar's name was announced in the squad for next week's crucial Test series opener against Australia in Bangalore.

It is hard to believe the absence of one man could have had such an effect on a batting line-up which also includes the likes of Sehwag, Laxman, Dravid and Ganguly.

But in seven one-day games without him, they won only two - one a dead rubber in a three-match series against England, and one against Kenya - and only totalled over 250 once.

"Tendulkar's absence has made a difference in terms of morale. That kind of experience is never easy to replace," former Indian opener Sunil Gavaskar said earlier this month.

There are only a handful of indviudals whose team's mental resolve can rise or fall accoring to their involvement or non-involvement - Sri Lanka's Muttiah Muralitharan and West Indies skipper Brian Lara are others.

Academy: What is tennis elbow?

Certainly, it is inconceivable that the loss of captain Ricky Ponting with a broken thumb has undermined the self-belief of Australia as they look to win a series in India for the first time since 1969-70.

There is no doubt, however, that Australia would prefer to play an Indian team without Tendulkar in it.

He has scored 760 runs in seven home Tests against them at an average of 63 and his innings of 177 at Bangalore in March 1998 - albeit in a losing cause - remains the highest individual score at the ground.

But is Tendulkar fit enough to make the final XI next Wednesday?

Even if he can't throw or hold a bat and ball, I am certain he will be there Shane Warne on Tendulkar 10 facts about Tendulkar

Has he a realistic chance of playing, or is his inclusion in the squad merely a smokescreen to try and give the rest of the team and supporters a psychological lift and keep Australia guessing?

"The injury has been rehabilitated. His fitness will be assessed on a day-to-day basis," insisted SK Nair, secretary to the Board of Control.

Only 48 hours earlier, however, Tendulkar admitted his time in the nets was still restricted, he was having to use a lighter bat and had lost power in his strokes.

"There's some muscle loss, I can't just go bang bang.

"I have been advised to bat only for 10 minutes at a stretch to begin with, and not for say two or three hours," he was quoted as saying.

If India are to beat Australia, they may need Tendulkar to bat for eight, nine or 10 hours, not two or three

And the various statements about his injury suggest Australia are already facing spin even though the action in the middle has yet to begin.