"Tendulkar will not be going to Zimbabwe," secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India Karunakaran Nair told the Press Trust of India.

Rookie opener Dheeraj Jadhav will replace Tendulkar for the two Test matches in Bulawayo from September 13-17 and Harare from September 20-24, Nair said.

Tendulkar, 32, who underwent surgery in May to repair a tennis elbow, had been provisionally picked for the Test series even though he missed the ongoing one-day tri-series in Zimbabwe also featuring New Zealand.

But the most prolific batsman in the modern game with 23,776 international runs and 72 centuries opted out despite rigorous training at the nets in his home city of Mumbai.

It was not immediately clear if Tendulkar will be able to represent the World team in the International Cricket Council's Super Series against Australia in October.

The Indian team's physiotherapist John Gloster said in a statement that Tendulkar "did not feel confident and strong enough yet to return to the rigours of Test cricket batting".

"The strength component of his rehabilitation plan has progressed positively to this point, but is not yet sufficient to progress to the next level of competitive play.

"We will continue to constantly review his recovery and progress."

Tendulkar's 16-year career was interrupted by the tennis elbow injury sustained 12 months ago while preparing for a one-day tournament in the Netherlands.

Unable to lift even a cup of tea, Tendulkar missed the Champions Trophy in England in September and the first two home Tests against world champions Australia in October.

He returned for the remaining two Tests of the series and played further matches against South Africa, Bangladesh and Pakistan before the season ended in April.

A precautionary medical check-up in England in May revealed a tendon tear in the left elbow which required immediate surgery.

Tendulkar, who has spent half his life playing for India -- he made his Test debut in 1989 aged 16 -- has 10,134 runs from 123 matches and needs just one more century to break compatriot Sunil Gavaskar's world record of 34 hundreds.

Tendulkar is already the most successful one-day batsman in history with 13,642 runs from 348 matches with 38 centuries.