Indian team physiotherapist John Gloster, who is at the MRF pace academy in Chennai to prepare the players for a season ahead, said all the fast bowlers have progressed well "to my satisfaction."
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"I am happy that all of them have progressed well to my satisfaction. I am communicating with Greg (Chappell) at the moment. He has come back from South Africa. For me, it is a burning programme to have the players prepared for the next five competitions before the team is selected", he said.
Gloster, who refused to express his opinion on policies, including rotation of bowlers, said that when the camp starts next month, the squad should be fully prepared.
"The bowlers have to be totally fit and mentally prepared for positive results in Sri Lanka, where conditions are almost similar to those over here.
"As for Greg and myself, we will prepare the squad as far as possible. Then it is up to the selectors and the team management to guide us."
On solutions to fast bowlers' injuries, including of Irfan Pathan, he said "I cannot comment on Irfan's injury at the moment. I am not concerned about individual players. But when injuries occur, we set a training programme, giving them the best schedule for three months, to ensure that they do not get injured."
Stating that injuries do occur despite the best possible training schedule, Gloster said that conditions are difficult in India, as the grounds are hard.
"It is always better to play on surfaces which are more conducive, but grounds are more difficult in this part of the world. We have to work around the given conditions.
"Similarly, it will be difficult for players from other nations to adjust to conditions in the sub-continent. Injuries are always going to occur, especially to fast bowlers. We have to make sure that they are well prepared as much as possible."
Expressing confidence that Sachin Tendulkar would fully recover within 16 weeks, Gloster said he would not make any suggestion on whether the maestro should play with a light or heavy bat.
"Sachin has been around for 16 years. It is left to him to play with any kind of bat he feels comfortable with. I will have to work around with that. Injuries are common to everyone, including sportspersons in everyday life. But it should be attended to," he said.
On Tendulkar's surgery, he said, "I feel that we made the right decisions at this point. It is an important part of the upper limb, which controls the wrist and finger movements. Lots of specific exercises are given to resolve this problem."
Asked to compare the Indian players with others, including the Australians, he said "I cannot speak about the Australians, since I have not done the tests. As for our bowlers, we produce and reproduce fitness programmes better than what everybody else is using. Each player wants to be stronger and fitter."
"The most important factor in this is to continue looking ahead and for ways to improve their performances. We look for new vistas, for ideas and pass them on to the players, hoping we can get the best out of them. It is not making comparisons, but making sure that they have long careers," he said.
Stating that the Indian players are in very good shape, particularly the fast bowlers, Gloster said "I have not been around with the Indian team long enough to comment on problems which existed in the past.
"As of now, the workload is rather harsh and demanding to the Indian conditions -- dealing with high temperatures and high humidity. It affects the performances and that influences injuries.
"They (the bowlers) are now working with Ramji (Srinivasan) at MRF, which has world class facilities. Gregory King had done a fantastic job with the boys and they have also responded well. If they envisage any problem, Ramji will put them through to their programmes."
He said the bowlers are as well prepared as any other international bowler.
Asked to define the role of the weather in a player's injury recovery programme, Gloster said it plays a huge role.
"We have to look at longer recovery and stretching periods in hot and humid conditions. Exercising in the early part of the day is more suitable.
"I assess each player on his strengths and weaknessess and Gregory King and Ramji work around those findings", he said.
