Mumbai Indians skipper Sachin Tendulkar is to make his belated Indian Premier League debut against the Chennai Super Kings on Thursday.

The 'Little Master' has been sidelined so far with the groin injury he suffered in the first Test against South Africa in March.

But he revealed: "I'll be playing against the Chennai Super Kings scheduled for 14th.

"I've worked really hard on my fitness and now I'm fully fit.

"My physio, Dr Niraj Patel, has been continuously monitoring my progress."

The Mumbai Indians were left to contend with stand-in captains in the absence of Tendulkar.

Harbhajan Singh led the team in three matches until he was banned by the IPL for slapping Kings XI Punjab player Sreesanth after their match in Mohali on April 25.

South African all-rounder Shaun Pollock took the captaincy from then on, and led the team to victory in three of their next four games.

Tendulkar praised Pollock's role in turning around the fortunes of the team.

"The stand-in skipper Shaun Pollock has done a fine job," he said. "(But) I'll be captaining the side from now."