Lockie Ferguson was missing from the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) opening match of the IPL 2023 against Punjab Kings (PBKS) in Punjab Cricket Association IS Bindra Stadium in Mohali on April 1, 2023 and coach Chandrakant Pandit revealed the reason behind the same.
New Zealand pacer Lockie Ferguson was traded to the KKR franchise by Gujarat Titans with whom he had won the IPL 2022 last season. Along with Ferguson, GT had also traded Rahmanullah Gurbaz, who made his IPL debut in the ongoing encounter against PBKS.
After winning the IPL trophy in 2012 and 2014, the Kolkata Knight Riders ended as the runners-up during IPL 2021 where they lost the finals against Chennai Super Kings. KKR finished in the 7th position on the points table during IPL 2022.
Meanwhile, KKR’s interim captain Nitish Rana won the toss and chose to bowl first and when asked about his foreign players, he named Sunil Narine, Andre Russell, Tim Southee, and Rahmanullah Gurbaz, making the KKR fans wonder where the thunderbolt Lockie Ferguson was.
KKR Coach Chandrakant Pandit Reveals Why Lockie Ferguson Is Missing From KKR 11
Lockie Ferguson was used as an enforcer by Hardik Pandya for GT and he had bowled the fastest ball of IPL 2022 when he clocked an astonishing bowling speed of 157.3 kmph in the finals against Rajasthan Royals.
During a chat with the commentators, KKR coach Chandrakant Pandit revealed why the New Zealand pacer was not part of the playing 11.
He said: “He (Ferguson) was suffering with an injury.”
Ferguson was recently ruled out of the first ODI against Sri Lanka which was played on March 25 with a hamstring injury, which was confirmed by New Zealand bowling coach Shane Jurgensen. 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 played 18 matches in three seasons and picked up 21 wickets. He was picked up for a whopping INR 10 crore by Gujarat Titans in the mega auction ahead of IPL 2022.