Sachin Tendulkar Fit to play in Irani Cup tie against Delhi

A fit-again Sachin Tendulkar is all set to get back into his groove after a poor run with the bat in the three-Test series against Sri Lanka by taking part in the Irani Cup tie for Rest of India against Delhi at Vadodara later in September.

"I will be participating in the Irani Trophy. Just now I'm fine," declared the master batsman at a promotional event for Aviva Insurance of which he is a brand ambassador.

The selectors will choose on Monday a near-strength Test squad for the annual tie from September 24-28 between last season's Ranji Trophy champions (Delhi) and the Rest of India and are expected to name Tendulkar in the squad.

Tendulkar had to miss the five-match ODI series against Sri Lanka, after being a part of the Test squad under Anil Kumble that lost the series to the home team 1-2, after sustaining an elbow injury while fielding in the third and final match at Colombo.

He returned home and was replaced in the ODI squad by S Badrinath. The champion batsman could muster only 95 runs at a very dismal average of 15.83 per innings with 31 in the second innings of the second Test at Galle, won by India, as his highest score in the three-match Test rubber.

Before the series, the ace batsman, who appeared in his 150th Test in Colombo, was only 172 runs adrift of overtaking West Indian great Brian Lara as the highest run getter in Tests, but fell way short of that target.