India's ace batsman Sachin Tendulkar [Images] has pulled out from the Olympic torch relay, to be held in New Delhi on Thursday, due to injury.

- Should film stars run the torch relay?

Reports said that Tendulkar had informed of his decision to the Indian Olympic Association.

The Olympic torch arrived in Pakistan early on Wednesday on the first leg of its relay in Asia amid security worries that led to a change of venue in the country's capital, Islamabad.

The torch, touring the world ahead of the Olympic Games in Beijing [Images] in August, arrived in a chartered plane from Muscat at a an airbase in the nearby city of Rawalpindi.

On Tuesday, India trimmed the route for the Olympic torch relay this week, fearing Tibetan protesters might try to disrupt the procession. The torch will now travel the two-and-a-half-kilometre route between Vijay Path and India Gate.

The torch will travel less than a third of the original 9 km distance in one of New Delhi's most heavily guarded neighbourhoods on Thursday. More than 3000 security personnel have been deployed for the event.

Sportspersons like Leander Paes [Images], PT Usha, Manavjit Singh Sandhu as well as film stars like Aamir Khan [Images] and Saif Ali Khan [Images] will participate in the relay.

Indian football captain Baichung Bhutia had refused to carry the Olympic torch in protest against China's response to the unrest in Tibet [Images].