How injury helped Mohammed Shami prepare for IPL 2021

Mohammed Shami is a prolific seam bowler for Team India, a vital part of the bowling attack across formats. He plays for Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League. He is coming off a fractured forearm that has kept him out of action for nearly three months.

Indian seamer Mohammed Shami would be gearing up to get back to the Indian side after making a swift injury recovery. He would begin his bid for the international comeback by eyeing a stellar season with Punjab Kings in the Indian Premier League 2021.

Shami had suffered a fractured forearm during the Test series in Australia, which India had eventually won. For nearly three months, he rehabilitated at the National Cricket Academy in Bengaluru and has made a complete recovery, as he is eager to get going once again, starting with the IPL.

Speaking on his injury and recovery, Shami told PTI, "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 I hope I can carry that form into the IPL. Because of the injury, I got more time to 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," he added.

Shami has had a decent IPL career so far, claiming 60 wickets in 63 games at an economy of 8.89, having played Delhi Daredevils (2014-18) and PK (since 2019). He came up with his best season last year, finishing as PK's highest wicket-taker, claiming 20 from 14 at 8.57.

(Image courtesy: BCCI)

Speaking ahead of the new season and his plans, Shami reckoned, "We got good overseas players now. It is a stronger squad, so we should do better this time. Your mind has to be absolutely clear in the shortest format."

"As a unit, we did good work but lost close matches that we should have won. The support staff and players were frank with each other about that. Our death bowling seems better compared to last year, so we should do better," he concluded.

(Image courtesy: BCCI)