Adrian Frater, News Editor

India's Sachin Tendulkar laughs as he leaves the ground after a practice session in Trelawny yesterday. - Reuters

WESTERN BUREAU:

IF HIS expectations come to fruition, the 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup should be a highly successful one for India's star batsmen Sachin Tendulkar, who yesterday declared himself fit, confident and ready to go at a press conference at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Montego Bay.

"I am looking forward to having a good tournament I am hoping that both my batting and bowling will come good," said the master batsman, who hinted that he plans to make up for missing India's last tour to the Caribbean. "I am not under any pressure at this time I feel quite confident and I am ready to go."

Not predicting a win

While not predicting an Indian win, the diminutive Tendulkar said he was expecting the team to do very well. However, he was quick to point out that any one of the top eight teams, including Australia, who have been experiencing indifferent form, could lift the title.

"You cannot write off the Australians, they are too good a team," said Tendulkar. "Australia are a team that knows how to bounce back when they are under pressure."

Like Tendulkar, India's captain Rahul Dravid and coach Greg Chappell are also quite optimistic that India, who are at full strength for this tournament, have the capacity to win.

"We have a pretty good team and we are very confident," said Dravid. "I know that all the other teams will be aiming to play their best cricket but we are very confident that this is going to be a very good tournament for us," he said.

According to Chappell, India is one of three teams that will be going into the tournament with a well-balanced unit, one of the driving reasons for his optimism.

"We will not be relying on any special players because the team is fairly well balanced all round," said Chappell, a former Australia captain.

Fast bowler Zaheer Khan, who will be leading the India attack for the first time, was another of the players flushed with confidence.

"I am really looking forward to leading this attack and doing well," said Khan. "I know what is expected of me and I am confident that I can do it."