CHENNAI, September 17: Sachin Tendulkar means business whenever he steps on to a cricket ground. Two days after he played a lead role in India A’s Challenger Trophy triumph, he was commandeering a training session for Mumbai, the Ranji champions, at the MA Chidambaram Stadium on Tuesday.

Coach Chandrakant Pandit was understandably happy at the way things were shaping up in their build-up to the Irani Trophy duel against the Rest of India that can be mistaken for an Indian team, thanks to the presence of Saurav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag, Anil Kumble, Harbhajan Singh and Zaheer Khan.

‘‘With Sachin around there has been more purpose to the training. He spoke to each and every player, including his old mate Vinod Kambli. It was a compact session,’’ observed Pandit on the day’s proceedings.

The former India wicket-keeper also had an eye on the track. ‘‘There were two strips, one is green with patches, while the other is a typical Chepauk track (read spinner friendly),’’ he opined.

A light shower later in the evening hasn’t deterred the organisers’ enthusaism. ‘‘It is actually good for the ground,’’ remarked Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) secretary CR Vijayaraghavan, who is expecting a good turnout for the five-day encounter, which gets under way from Thursday.

‘‘We are expecting around 15,000 spectators on Saturday and Sunday,’’ he said while adding that the TNCA have printed around 20,000 tickets, which would be up for sale from Wednesday.

While the full Mumbai squad, barring Ajit Agarkar, underwent a strenous training session, the Rest of India members were still trooping in till late in the evening. The full side is likely to assemble tomorrow morning.