KKR pacer Lockie Ferguson pulled off a prank on his teammate Pat Cummins when he asked the former about the heat in UAE. Australian speedster Pat Cummins is currently playing the white ball series against England and will join the KKR squad after 16th September when the series ends.
The 13th edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL) will be played in the UAE this season, where the temperature is in the excess of 40 degree Celsius.
The change in venue was commanded because of the increasing cases of COVID-19 in India. The matches in IPL 2020 will be played in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah. The 13th edition of IPL was originally scheduled to kick off from March 29 was postponed indefinitely after April 15 due to the rising number of coronavirus cases in the nation. The postponing of the World Cup to 2021 gave the IPL a window to be conducted in September.
Lockie Ferguson shares his banter with Pat Cummins
New Zealand pacer Lockie Ferguson says he will miss KKR’s home ground Eden Gardens but he is also looking forward to the challenges of playing in the UAE.
“Yeah, very excited. I’ve played here a couple of times (for New Zealand). I’ll surely miss the buzz at Eden Gardens and around India, but I’m looking forward to the challenges of playing in the UAE as well,” Ferguson told in an interview on Kolkata Knight Riders’ website.
Ferguson has revealed an amusing incident with his teammate Pat Cummins where he lied to him about the heat of UAE. He said Cummins would come and feel it is too bad and quite the opposite of what he told Cummins.
“Pat Cummins texted me the other day asking ‘how is the heat,’ and I lied to him saying it’s not too bad. Well, let him come and check it out – it’s pretty bad, isn’t it! (laughters),” the bowler said.
Lockie Ferguson on Pat Cummins:
The NZ pacer is looking forward to partner with Cummins for KKR. Ferguson heaped praises for Cummins calling him the best pacer in many years and he acknowledged the Aussie is getter better with time.
“Yeah, pace-offs we are surely going to have with each other. I don’t know if you are aware of this fast bowling club. We are always nice to the guy who can bowl at 150kmph!,” he said.
“Look, Pat is an exceptional bowler, there is no secret about that. He is either the bowler of player of the year internationally almost every year. He seems to be getting better and better and he is still so young. He is a lovely guy and I am thoroughly looking forward to rubbing shoulders with him,” Ferguson signed off.
KKR will play their first match against MI on 23rd of September. They have been training for two weeks now in the scorching heat of the UAE. The IPL 2020 will begin from September 19 till November 10, a total 53-day campaign will see all the eight teams play in UAE.