Lockie Ferguson set to skip start of IPL 2026 to be with wife and newborn baby

The Punjab Kings (PBKS) are all set to start their Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 campaign on March 31 against the Gujarat Titans (GT) in New Chandigarh. PBKS, the runners-up of the previous season, are one of those unfortunate teams that have not won the title yet, even after 18 years. They had a good opportunity in the previous season but lost the finals against Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB). 

In this season, they'll try to do everything correctly. However, ahead of the start of the cash-rich league, PBKS player Lockie Ferguson has revealed that he is going to take a break and spend time with his newborn baby and wife. Hence, he might miss the first few matches of the tournament. While speaking to the media in Auckland before the 3rd T20I match, he opened up about taking a break. 

"Just had a wee son, trying to spend as much time as I can at home and help the wife out. I'll have a few weeks off after this, before sort of heading to the later stages of the IPL and away for the winter," said Lockie Ferguson. 

"Always a pleasure playing for the Black Caps, really enjoyed my time in India with the group again and unfortunate the injuries played out earlier in the season. Really wanted to play some home cricket and feel just privileged to be able to play in front of the home crowd," he added. 

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PBKS likely to bring Ben Dwarshuis in place of Lockie Ferguson

The franchise might look for options within their squad as Ferguson's replacement, and Ben Dwarshuis is a good pick. He has experience in playing in India and that would help PBKS as well. They spent INR 4.4 crore in the auction and will look forward to including him in the team.

Meanwhile, he is the second-highest wicket-taker in BBL history and has taken 164 wickets in 129 games at an economy rate of 8.09. PBKS do have a strong bowling unit, including Arshdeep Singh, Marco Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Azmatullah Omarzai, Yash Thakur, Vyshak Vijaykumar and Marcus Stoinis.

Hence, they might not miss Ferguson in the first half of the tournament. This time, they need a solid start in the campaign and will have to keep an eye on striking a balance in the playing XI. Overall, they have a good team. A lot will be dependent on the batting line-up, especially the top order, as they have to give an attacking start. This will release pressure off the middle-order batters and will leave something for the bowlers to defend.