Brett Lee confirms availability for Indian tour

In what may come as good news for cricket fans, Australian fast bowler Brett Lee has announced that he will be available for the four-Test tour to India next month.

The pace spearhead had taken time off the game and spent sometime with his team mates on Thursday after he split with his wife, Liz Kemp, last month.

The 31-year-old, who missed the one-day series against Bangladesh after being given time off to deal with his marriage breakdown, declared himself ready for selection for the four Tests against India.

"Absolutely. I'm looking forward to it. Can't wait" he said.

The speedster further said spending time away from the game has worked well for him, and, "I am looking forward to achieving my long-held ambition of playing a Test match in India".

"That's something that's been burning inside of me for a long period of time now, so I will be looking forward to getting over there" he said.

"The crowds are brilliant, the people are so friendly and lovely.
Thought it's a tough place to play cricket but very enjoyable," Lee added.

Adding that it was good move to get away from home for a day, the pacer, who was the fastest to reach 300 ODI wickets, said, "I thought it would be a wise move to get out of Sydney and just come up here and spend some time in Darwin and see how the lads are going and get back into the feel of things again.

"I'm looking forward to the next couple of weeks," he affirmed.

Lee said this visit would allow him to speak with coach Tim Nielsen about his preparations for India.

He further said his time out had freshened his body and mind.

"The time I've had away from cricket both physically and mentally, it actually freshened me right up so I hope down the back-end this is going to prolong my cricketing life" he said.

"I've had a bit of time away from cricket, " Lee asserted.

"I'm right, I'm feeling fit, I'm feeling fresh and I'm looking forward to the next tour." Lee also took part in Australia's light recovery session, comprising kicking footballs around, following the side's win over Bangladesh in Wednesday's second one-day match.

However, Lee's availability for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy defence is a major boost for the team which is likely to fill up the absence of all-rounder Andrew Symonds, who sent home from Darwin last weekend for disciplinary breach and his future with the Australian team is now in doubt.

The Australian squad is expected to be announced next week and will depart for India on September 21.