ADELAIDE - Recuperating Australian paceman Jason Gillespie has his sights set on next month's cricket tour of India.

Gillespie has been sidelined since the Sydney Test match between Australia and the West Indies early this month with a strained hamstring tendon.

But hours of physiotherapy and gym work have the injury-ravaged South Australian raring to play again.

"I'm getting fit at a pretty good pace," Gillespie told AAP today.

"It's hard to say if I could just front up and play tomorrow. If I really had to I suppose I could bowl tomorrow but I'm not going to take that risk at all."

Gillespie was pleased with a 20-minute net bowling session with the Australian one-day squad in Adelaide last Thursday, where he used a shortened run-up.

He was planning another net session tomorrow and hopes to play for the Redbacks in a Mercantile Mutual Cup fixture against Queensland at Adelaide Oval on February 9.

It is difficult to believe national selectors would risk the 25-year-old in the current international one-day series against Zimbabwe and the West Indies with Australia dominating the competition so heavily.

The Australians remain unbeaten in the series, changing their line-up at will while neither opponent looks close to posing any threat.

"Obviously I'd like to play for Australia (in the one-dayers)," Gillespie said.

"I haven't totally ruled it out or anything but there's a lot of factors - whether they decide to pick me or not or save me for a later date. The team is doing pretty well, they haven't really needed me."

"I'd be happy to play for Australia or South Australia. I basically just want to play cricket at the moment."

Gillespie is sure to be at the forefront of selectors' thinking for Australia's tour of India, with the team departing in two weeks.

After such an easy summer, Australia will need all the firepower it can muster to extend its world record 15-Test winning streak in India, where it has not won a series for 31 years.

"I believe I'd be ready to go on that tour if selected, that's the aim at this stage, to be fit for that," Gillespie said.

Beyond India there is Australia's Ashes tour of England.

The last time Gillespie made that trip, in 1997, he returned with a stress fracture in his back and he has suffered a horror run of injuries since then, including a broken leg after an on-field collision with Steve Waugh in Sri Lanka in 1999.

"Every cricketer's dream is to tour England, I've been fortunate to do it once and hopefully I can get myself on another tour," he said.

-- AAP

© 2001 AAP