Kumble hopes to play in Tests

Ace leg spinner Anil Kumble, omitted from the one-day squad on fitness grounds, expects to be fully fit for the Test series against Pakistan while left-arm speedster Zaheer Khan is hoping to achieve 100 per cent fitness in time for the one-day internationals.

Kumble, nursing a shoulder injury, had to be left out of the 15-member Indian squad for the five-match one-day series beginning on March 13 after he failed to prove his fitness.

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"I am not fully fit now but should be fit for the Test matches which I want to play very much," Kumble told reporters at a function held at New Delhi to unveil the Samsung Cup, the trophy for the India-Pakistan one-day series.

"There are still three weeks to go (for the Test team to be named) and I am sure I will be fit by then," he said.

"I am bowling a little bit in the nets and also undergoing strengthening exercises."

Kumble agreed that for a spinner it would be a challenge to rein in the Pakistani batsmen.

"None of us have toured Pakistan before. A lot depends on the pitches, which would be somewhat similar to what we have at home. If you look at their record, it is not great against spin. So as a spinner you can look forward to playing there."

Zaheer said he was confident of achieving full fitness in time for the one-day series.

"I have been working hard towards my fitness for the last 8-10 days. I am quite confident that I will achieve 100 per cent fitness by the time the first one-dayer begins," he said.