Canberra, Dec 15: India’s pace spearhead, Zaheer Khan, who has played a pivotal role in India’s rise in the cricketing world in the last few years, says he is fit and ready to take on the challenges that await him and India on the Australia tour.

"I am all prepared for it. I am feeling confident. I have done every bit possible to get my fitness up and am just looking forward to playing some matches now,” Zaheer was quoted as saying ahead of the important series.

Zaheer echoed the thoughts of India captain MS Dhoni and coach Duncan Fletcher before leaving for Australia when he said, "[I] just want to focus on my strengths rather than worrying about who am I going to bowl to, what is going to happen, what kind of wickets I am going to bowl on. It's all about me thinking about my bowling and fitness and getting in the best state of mind to perform well for Team India."

"I have played a few first-class games back home which went well. I have enough bowling under my belt so I just want to focus on my cricket now,” the 33-year-old added.

"As a bowler it’s all about getting [the ball] in the right areas. If you are hitting the right length, if you are able to get the ball moving, then you are going to trouble any batsman in the world," he said.

Zaheer stressed on the importance of the practice games given the vastly different conditions confronting the Indian players.

"For batters also it is important to get used to the conditions. I am sure from a batting point of view also it is going to be an important match," he said about the ongoing two-day warm-up match against CA Chairman’s XI at the Manuka Oval. Although he isn’t playing this particular game, he lauded young pacer Umesh Yadav for his effort today.

"It’s good to see him bowl at 140-plus […] I am sure that wickets here are definitely going to suit his style of bowling because they are going to produce that extra bit of bounce," Zaheer observed.

"It’s still early days for him; the more he plays the more he will learn. It’s all about exposure at this level. I am sure with time to come he will learn more things as well," he added.