Mohammed Shami is "absolutely fine and ready to go" for the Punjab Kings in IPL 2021 after spending time at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) recovering from the fractured forearm he suffered during the first Test in Australia in mid-December.

"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," Shami, who left the NCA on March 20, told PTI. "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."

The 2020 season, played in the UAE, was Shami's best - after his first go in 2009 - on all markers: he got 20 wickets from 14 games at an average of 23.00 and strike rate of 16.10, with an economy rate of 8.57, all superior to his numbers in previous seasons. His IPL best of 3 for 15 also came last season.

But with Ravi Bishnoi the only other bowler to have an impact, the Punjab Kings [Kings XI Punjab till last year] failed to make the playoffs. They have bolstered the bowling department ahead of the upcoming season, buying Jhye Richardson, Riley Meredith, Jalaj Saxena, Moises Henriques and Fabian Allen at the auction earlier this year.

"We can't change the past," Shami said. "I tried my best last season and also helped the fellow pacers whenever I could. 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 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."