The right-arm India fast bowler Mohammed Shami has announced that he is absolutely fit and ready to go as Punjab Kings intensify their preparations and build up for the upcoming edition of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 tournament, starting on April 9.
Shami has been out of action since he suffered a fracture on his forearm of his bowling hand during the first Test against Australia at the Adelaide Oval in December, when he was trying to hit Pat Cummins and instead got a severe blow on his hand.
But ahead of the IPL 2021 cricket tournament, Shami has declared that he has got enough time at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) in Bangalore to get ready for the 14th edition of the slam bang tournament, in which his team has high hopes from the Indian pace spearhead to deliver the goods.
Shami told a news agency,
”The injury while batting was unfortunate as I have not had any fitness issues for a long time, but this was something I couldn’t do anything about but it is part of the game. I always look at the positives. The last season was good for me and hope I can carry that form into the IPL. Because of the injury, I got more time be ready for a big tournament like the IPL.
“I was at NCA most of the time. I could have gone back home but because of the current Covid environment, I decided to spend more time at NCA as the facilities are much better and you can follow the Covid protocols,”
Shami added.
Shami had a terrific outing in the previous edition of IPL which was held in the United Arab emirates UAE. In 14 matches, he picked 20 wickets at an average of 23 and strike rate of 16.10 with his economy rate being under nine per over.