T20 World Cup 2026: Lockie Ferguson's participation in doubt after injury setback

New Zealand quick Locke Ferguson has sustained a calf injury ahead of the 2026 T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka. Ferguson limped off the field after hurting his right calf during Desert Vipers’ ILT20 league fixture against MI Emirates in Dubai on December 21. He was later ruled out for the remainder of the ILT20 season, with Sam Curran taking the captaincy charge, having previously stood in for Ferguson when he was recovering from a different injury.

As it stands, Ferguson will also miss the ongoing Big Bash League (BBL) for Sydney Thunder, further putting his participation in the 20-team ICC event in February and March in doubt. Ferguson was supposed to link up with his BBL team upon the conclusion of ILT20 in the UAE. He would have some more preparation time through the five-match T20I series against India right before the World Cup.

Sydney Thunder General Manager Trent Copeland said that he was gutted with Ferguson’s exit and hoped to have the pacer back in the future.

"We're gutted that Lockie won't be with us this year," Copeland said in a statement. "Not only does he bowl 150kph with an incredible amount of experience in all conditions, but he is genuinely one of the best humans in cricket and added so much to our squad culturally too. We wish Lockie all the best in the recovery ahead of the World Cup and hope to one day see him back playing for the Thunder Nation."

Thunder have named England’s David Willey as the replacement, with the pacer set to join them ahead of the January 6 clash against Adelaide Strikers. At the ILT20, Vipers roped in Pakistan spinner Usman Tariq as the replacement.

With a little over a month left for the World Cup, Ferguson will be in a race against time to regain fitness. His absence will only further deplete New Zealand’s pace bowling reserves as they will be without Will O’Rourke’s services due to a back injury.

Adam Milne makes roaring comeback after recovering from injury

However, pacer Adam Milne, who was sidelined with an ankle injury for the last four months, has returned to action at the SA20 with Sunrisers Eastern Cape and has impressed instantly. He returned with an exceptional 2/7 against Paarl Royals in Paarl in his comeback game and followed that with 4/25 against Pretoria Capitals in Gqeberha.

"Nice to get a couple of wins and a couple of good performances," Milne said after the game against the Capitals. "Just always nice to be back on the park. Any fast bowler will take that after they've had some injuries. Injuries are always going to be there. You get to appreciate moments like this - playing and bowling in games."