"The national selectors have decided to retain Gavaskar in the squad as Tendulkar's replacement," Indian board joint-secretary Ratnakar Shetty told the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency in Bombay.

Tendulkar was ruled out of the 12-nation tournament after failing to recover from an elbow injury, which had already forced him to miss a tri-series in the Netherlands and the ongoing three-match series against England.

The news agency report on Saturday quoted Indian manager Gautam Dasgupta as saying in London that Tendulkar had not recovered fully from the injury and would need at least two weeks to regain fitness.

The Champions Trophy begins in England on September 10. India play their opening game the following day against Kenya.

Gavaskar, son of legendary former Indian opener Sunil, was originally picked for only the Netherlands tournament and the England series.

Tendulkar's absence would be a big blow to India, who had been expecting the master batsman to be fit for the Champions Trophy.

India are already trailing 2-0 in the three-match series against England without Tendulkar, the highest scorer in the shorter version of the game with 13,415 runs from 339 matches with 37 centuries.

India have been placed in Pool C along with Pakistan and Kenya. The pool winners will qualify for the semifinals.