Sydney, Oct 21: Indian batting champion Sachin Tendulkar will be one of the biggest challenges that Australia's new bowling spearhead Andy Bichel will confront on his team's cricket tour of the subcontinent. Australia leave here tomorrow for a four-week limited overs tournament against India and New Zealand, and with Australia's bowling stocks drastically depleted by injury, Bichel takes over as the team's leading paceman.

The big-hearted Queenslander said it would be a big challenge as he has never toured India and has bowled just once to Tendulkar for his state several seasons ago. "That's the toughest challenge," Bichel said today bowling to Tendulkar on his fancied batting surfaces.

"We've got to play Sachin (in Tests) out here this summer coming up, so it would be nice to get some wood on him on his own turf just coming into the Australian summer," Bichel said. "So we're going to be right on our game and try not to give him some momentum coming into this summer."

Bichel carried a massive workload in the two Tests against Zimbabwe after Jason Gillespie, Stuart Macgill (both in Perth) and Brett Lee (in Sydney) broke down.

The extra pressure meant Bichel suffered an infected big toe on his left foot, the result of sending down 92 overs in two Tests. "It's just part of being a fast bowler, you generally go through one a year and I'm just going through it at the moment," he said.

Bureau Report