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[aryan]

MUMBAI: Star Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar on Friday returned home after India's doomed Champions Trophy campaign in South Africa with a cut mark on his cheek, sustained after his collapse in a Johannesburg hotel.

Tendulkar, who missed India's last Champions Trophy tie against the West Indies because of food poisoning, returned home along with all-rounders Yusuf Pathan and Abhishek Nayar, team manager Anurag Thakur, physio Nitin Patel and masseur Ramesh Mane.

Tendulkar's left eye looked swollen when he and other players were whisked away from the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport, much to the disappointment of the waiting media.

The cut on Tendulkar's cheek was the result of his fall in a Johannesburg hotel. Tendulkar apparently had a stomach infection after India's match against Australia and when he returned to his hotel room, the seasoned batsman started feeling giddy.

He subsequently fell flat on his face and was in fact lucky not to have broken his nose even though the collapse left him with a cut mark and a black spot on his nose.

No information was forthcoming from the team management about the incident but media reports quoted Tendulkar as saying that he ate something at the stadium in Centurion after India's washed out match against Australia and that probably led to the stomach infection.

Tendulkar subsequently skipped the match against the West Indies.

Upon arrival, While Tendulkar and Nayar left for their respective homes in Mumbai, Yusuf took a connecting flight to Baroda.

The rest of the members of the Indian team, including captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni, are expected to land here by a later flight, sources said.

India were knocked out of the Champions Trophy before the semifinal stage of the tournament after they finished third in the four-team group, behind Pakistan and Australia and ahead of the West Indies.

Dhoni and his men lost the opening match to Pakistan, shared points with Australia when the match got washed out because of rains and won the tie against the West Indies.

The next assignment for the Indians is the seven-ODI home series against Australia commencing at Baroda on October 25.