India cricket legend Tendulkar in hospital with Covid-19

India batting great Sachin Tendulkar said on Friday he has been admitted to hospital as a precautionary measure after contracting the novel coronavirus last week.

Tendulkar, who will turn 48 later this month, was previously quarantining at home after testing positive following mild symptoms.

“As a matter of abundant precaution under medical advice, I have been hospitalised,” he said on Twitter. “I hope to be back home in a few days. Take care and stay safe everyone.”

He concluded by sending his wishes to his fellow members of India’s 2011 World Cup-winning squad on the 10th anniversary of the victory over Sri Lanka.

Dubbed the ‘Little Master’ by his legions of fans, Tendulkar scored a record 15,921 Test runs for India during a 24-year international career and is widely regarded as the game’s most complete batsman.

Former India captain Tendulkar retired from the professional game in 2013 after notching a still unmatched 100 international centuries in a prolific 24-year career.

He lives in Mumbai, the capital of the western Indian state of Maharashtra which has been the hardest hit by a resurgence in Covid-19 cases.
Maharashtra had as many as 43,183 new cases on Friday with the country’s financial hub Mumbai reporting 8,646 of them – both a record for single day infections.

Earlier in the day, India reported 81,466 new Covid-19 infections, the highest daily number in six months, as several states were hit by a second wave of the coronavirus.