S Badrinath replaces injured Sachin Tendulkar in ODI squad

Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar has been ruled out of the remainder of the one-day series against England as he needs to rest for four to six weeks to recover from an inflamed big toe on his right foot. The injury to Tendulkar has paved the way for his replacement S Badrinath to stake yet another claim for a place in the Indian squad.

Tendulkar, who is also now likely to miss Mumbai Indians' Champions League campaign, will have to wait until at least England's tour of India in October to score his 100th international century.

India team manager Shival Yadav told media the condition, which had also ruled Tendulkar out of the abandoned series opener on Saturday, was a recurrence of an old injury. "It's four to six weeks. So we know he's not there for this series. It was the injury that he had in 2002 and it flared up in Durham," Yadav said, adding Tendulkar consulted a specialist in London after which he was advised rest for four to six weeks.

Tendulkar had a rather quiet time by his standards in the Test series where India was whitewashed 0-4 and also lost their No. 1 ranking to England. In eight innings, Tendulkar scored only 273 runs with a highest score of 91 at an average of 34.12. The batting maestro is the eighth Indian player to have been forced to end their England tour earlier than scheduled because of various injuries. The full list includes Rohit Sharma, Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Ishant Sharma and Harbhajan Singh.

Rohit, who was a part of the limited-overs squad against England, suffered a fractured finger off the first ball he faced in the first ODI; and has been replaced by Bengal captain and middle-order batsman Manoj Tiwary.

India's opening batsman Parthiv Patel, who made a career-best 95 at Chester-le-Street, admitted Tendulkar's loss is massive for the side, but added it gives a chance for youngsters to prove themselves. "You can't fill the shoes of Sachin, no matter who you are - so that's obviously a big loss. But it will be a good opportunity for youngsters to prove themselves," Patel told media, adding Tendulkar doesn't have anything to prove against anyone.

Tendulkar's forced exit has given Badrinath another opportunity to prove his mettle in the international arena. Badrinath made 40 runs in three innings on his ODI comeback against West Indies in June.

Indian Batting Legend Sachin Tendulkar, England, S Badrinath, Mumbai Indians, Champions League, India Team Manager Shival Yadav, London, Rohit Sharma, Virender Sehwag, Zaheer Khan, Gautam Gambhir, Yuvraj Singh, Ishant Sharma, Harbhajan Singh, Manoj Tiwary, Parthiv Patel