CHENNAI: After an injury-plagued 2025, Lockie Ferguson stepped into the new year with a clear objective – to seek balance and make deliberate choices to protect his fitness levels as the demands of cricket are surging.
Donning the Punjab Kings jersey last year in the IPL, the Kiwi pacer got injured for the third time in six months. Then, he came back, and played in different franchises across the world. Ferguson, like Kane Williamson, Tim Seifert and Finn Allen, has a casual playing agreement with New Zealand Cricket, which allows him to play in different T20 leagues.
During the T20 World Cup in February this year, Ferguson had opted for paternity leave and flew back home to attend to his wife and newborn son. Then, he returned for the tournament.
However, he opted out for the first half of the IPL to take care of his family.
A week into joining the Punjab Kings squad, Ferguson, without any pre-tournament training, spoke more on meeting up with the team and becoming a father. “There's an opportunity cost to anything. I chose to have some time at home with my family, my newborn and I can't thank Punjab Kings enough for allowing me to do that. It's obviously a hard decision from a cricket point of view to take time out to spend it at home. But something obviously I was very willing to do,” he said in a virtual interaction facilitated by PBKS
While much-needed family time may have helped him revitalise himself, preparing for a gruelling IPL season was crucial. Added to it, is the increasing trend of injuries to pacers like him. To avoid the nightmares from last year, Ferguson revealed that he has a mobile application to help record his workload. “There's no doubt we're playing more cricket than we ever have. So managing that, I don't know what the answer is. I'm working on a platform myself, ‘Yorker’, that tries to help athletes be self-sufficient in managing their workloads and give them some direction around how much they're bowling. But it's very individualised for different players. Some players need more work. Some players need less,” he explained.
He also responded on how fast-bowlers are trying to achieve a balance in maintaining a high intensity and play as many games as possible. “Finding an avenue where we keep bowlers fresh for longer and try to reduce injuries is great. I think it needs some work to be done on it. You obviously want all the best players playing as much as possible. I'm not sure it's ever going to get to a baseball style where you have a rotating roster of pitchers.
“I imagine players peaking for World Cups and other big tournaments and taking rests at other times during the season is individualised. We have great support networks around us trying to work out what the answers are.But it's something definitely the fast bowling community is looking at,” he explained.