Mumbai, Aug. 31: New Zealand pace sensation Shane Bond, who has been fighting injuries since the beginning of his career is fit and all set to fire in the Champions Trophy to be held in India in October-November.

"I am fully fit now and I am looking forward to the Champions Trophy if selected," said the Christchurch born pacer after launching a light-weight Nike cricket shoe along with young pacer Shantakumaran Sreesanth. "I can’t wait to play in a country where people are so passionate about cricket," he added.

The 31-year-old also said that it will be a challenging task, playing in the hot Indian conditions. "I am training back home in New Zealand. Unfortunately the temperature is very cold around 3 or 4 degrees Celsius, so I am forced to practice indoors. It will be a challenge to come to India and play in the hot weather here, but as a professional sportsperson, you should be ready for everything," said the Kiwi bowler.

Asked how it felt to miss so many matches due to injuries, Bond replied "It was frustrating to sit out with injury for so long. It was so depressing and at one point I thought I wouldn’t play cricket again."

So what did he do to improve his fitness? "I trained with a boxing coach, who is an ex-trainer for New Zealand. It was extremely challenging, but I needed to improve fitness, so I took the training," he replied.