Basseterre (St Kitts): Sachin Tendulkar’s decision to not make himself available for the Test series has, expectedly, dismayed many ? one being the Prime Minister of St Kitts and Nevis, Dr Denzil Douglas, who heads the Labour Party.

“I’ve been informed Tendulkar isn’t fit, but everything ought to have been done to get him over for the Tests... He’s one of the giants of cricket and please know I’m very disappointed... That Tendulkar isn’t coming is actually a loss for every West Indian,” Dr Douglas told The Telegraph.

Speaking on the sidelines of the third ODI (the biggest game hosted by St Kitts), the diminutive Dr Douglas added: “We’d known Tendulkar wouldn’t be available for the one-dayers, but I was confident of seeing him here during the first-ever Test, next month... Now, I’ll have to wait till the World Cup and see him somewhere else in the Caribbean...”

Dr Douglas, who has been in power for 11 years (“not a bad innings, right?”), is convinced the ODIs are going to be won by the West Indies. “India have the ability to snatch it, but the series will go the West Indies’ way... In the Tests, I think the advantage is with you,” he said, grinning.

Besides Sachin, Dr Douglas has been an “admirer” of Gary Sobers (“my mentor”), Viv Richards, Brian Lara and the “great Sunil Gavaskar.” Decades ago, he himself used to be a right-arm mediumpacer, but didn’t “progress beyond high school.”

Dr Douglas is “proud” that St Kitts (it hasn’t, by the way, produced international cricketers unlike ‘twin’ Nevis) hosted its first ODI while he’s in power. “It’s an achievement and the hospitality and facilities we’ve offered are surely going to be highlighted... We’re confident of an even bigger and better show in the World Cup...”

Known to take hard decisions, like shutting down the unprofitable sugar industry last year, Dr Douglas is banking on tourism, particularly “sports tourism,” to attract the dollars. “We believe we can do it,” he signed off, grinning once more.

Incidentally, Dr Douglas’ minister of state for tourism, sports and culture is the former West Indies manager Ricky Skerritt. He’s a science graduate from Oxford and a Rhodes scholar.