'My fitness is fine now': Zaheer

Zaheer Khan has announced that he has regained complete fitness, and only needs more bowling practice to get back his rhythm. Speaking to the media on the last day of the fitness camp in Bangalore, Zaheer said: "My fitness is fine now, but I'm at a stage where I just need to bowl more and more. Injuries have been a worry for me, but this is just a phase and I'm confident it will soon go."

Zaheer was plagued by injuries for most of last season - he missed two out of four Tests in Australia due to a torn hamstring, and then pulled out midway through the first Test against Pakistan.

Commenting on the recovery process, Zaheer said: "For any player, staging a comeback is very difficult and I am analyzing how not to get injured as well as maintaining my length and speed. I don't think I really have to cut down on my pace."

In an attempt to regain match-fitness, Zaheer briefly tried his hand at county cricket, playing as an amateur for Surrey. He was supposed to figure in one-day game and two four-day matches, but pulled out of the last four-day fixture after a disappointing game against Kent. Speaking on the arrangement with Surrey, he said: "They wanted me to stand in for Saqlain Mushtaq and I wanted to have a go at bowling because I had already spent two weeks in England training. But after the first [four-day] match I realised that I needed to bowl much more in the nets before I started bowling in matches."

Zaheer's priority will be to get ready for the six-nation Asia Cup, which starts on July 16.