After Shreyas Iyer, KKR suffer another blow as Lockie Ferguson injured ahead of IPL 2023
KKR's Lockie Ferguson might miss out on a few games in the beginning of IPL 2023. The New Zealand quick has been ruled out of the first ODI against Sri Lanka, slated to be played on March 25 in Auckland, with a hamstring injury.
Kolkata Knight Riders have collided with a rock even before the start of IPL 2023. Their captain Shreyas Iyer is all but certain to be ruled out of the entire tournament due to a back injury. They are unlikely to get the services of Bangladesh cricketers Shakib Al Hasan and Litton Das due to the Ireland series and now it has come to light that Lockie Ferguson too might miss out on a few games in the beginning. The New Zealand quick has been ruled out of the first ODI against Sri Lanka, slated to be played on March 25 in Auckland, with a hamstring injury.
Ferguson along with teammates Finn Allen and Glenn Phillips was supposed to leave for India after the first ODI. The right-arm fast bowler was scheduled to land in Kolkata on March 26 but after his injury, the extent of which is still unknown, there is no clarity on when he will be available for KKR.
New Zealand bowling coach Shane Jurgensen confirmed the injury after their training session for the series opener on Thursday. He added that Ferguson had been complaining of stiffness in his back ever since playing in the Plunket Shield for Auckland two weeks ago.
Ferguson returned to KKR after he and Afghanistan wicketkeeper-batter Rahmanullah Gurbaz were traded from Gujarat Titans in an all-cash deal ahead of this year's min-auction. Ferguson had picked 12 wickets in 13 matches in last year's IPL for GT, who went on to win the title.
Ferguson, one of the fastest bowlers of the IPL, spent three seasons with KKR from IPL 2019 to 2021 before being released by the two-time champions. He played 18 matches in three seasons and picked up 21 wickets. He was picked up for a whopping ₹10 crore by Gujarat Titans in the mega auction ahead of IPL 2022.
If Ferguson is unavailable for the first few games then New Zealand veteran Tim Southee is certain to feature in the XI and lead the pace attack of KKR along with Umesh Yadav.
KKR start their campaign against Punjab Kings on April 1.