VISAKHAPATNAM: When New Zealand pacer Lockie Ferguson walked off the field two balls into his first spell for Punjab Kings in IPL 2025, it was the third time he had suffered an injury in a span of six months. Last played for New Zealand in November 2024, the speedster had been out of action due to calf injury. Then came a hamstring injury in ILT20, which led to him missing the Champions Trophy.
The IPL injury followed but Ferguson came back and played Major League Cricket and The Hundred. Having signed a casual playing agreement with New Zealand Cricket — along with the likes of Kane Williamson, Devon Conway, Finn Allen, and Tim Seifert — Ferguson had the flexibility of playing for the country and remaining within the high-performance system while taking up franchise opportunities overseas.
However, with the trade Ferguson plies — run and bowl as fast as he can — injuries keep coming back. The calf injury came back when he was playing ILT20 earlier this month. For a while, it seemed like his T20 World Cup could be an issue, but the pacer is with the team in Visakhapatnam and is hoping to get on the field sooner than later.
“(It has been a) challenging 2025 for sure,” Ferguson told reporters on the sidelines of a training session at the ACA-VDCA stadium on Tuesday. “At the same time, I still want to get better. I still want to perform on the world stage. I think being in a World Cup picture is nice. Obviously, there's some water to go under the bridge for me before then. But I still want to play against the best in the world,” he added.
“I want to test myself against the best in the world. So, rehab sucks. Injuries suck. There's no doubt about it. I think there's been a lot of injuries in world cricket. It's been challenging for the fast bowlers. So, we try to do the best we can. But again, it's just nice to be part of this group. I've got such good support staff here who look after me very well. So, hopefully, all firing for the World Cup.”
Though he hasn't played for New Zealand since November 2024, Ferguson is still one of the quickest bowlers in the world. And New Zealand will be keen to keep the 34-year-old under bubble wrap and unleash him when he is needed the most. Meanwhile, with all the franchise leagues coming and the cricketing calendar being as packed as it is, managing the body and workload has become a challenge. “There's no doubt we are playing more cricket. I don't think that's a secret. It is challenging at times. And the boys have to adapt to that. Trying to adapt as best as I can as well. Maybe it's picking and choosing a bit more as well. I think when I started playing, there were two or three days between matches. Now, we're sort of a little bit more limited. So, cricket's an interesting space. But I certainly think, from my point of view, it's an exciting space. I feel very privileged to be playing on the world stage and travelling the world playing something that I love. So, I'll keep trying to do the work to stay on the park as long as possible,” Ferguson said.
Even as he is racing against the clock to get back on the field, there are some exciting things happening off it as well for Ferguson. While his partner is expecting sometime next month, Ferguson may miss a brief period of the tournament for paternity leave. That being said, whenever he takes the field, expect Ferguson to run in as hard as he can and challenge batters with his extra pace.