Big blow for New Zealand! Lockie Ferguson doubtful for ICC T20 World Cup 2026 due to THIS massive injury

By Vikas Singh Derek

Vikas Singh Derek has a Master's in Journalism and has written more than 50,000 articles. He currently works as a cricket content writer at Khel Now.

Published at :January 4, 2026 at 1:42 PM

Modified at :January 4, 2026 at 1:42 PM

(Courtesy : Getty Images)

Lockie Ferguson sustained a calf injury last month in ILT20 2025-26 and is doubtful for the T20 World Cup 2026.

New Zealand Cricket Team have suffered a big blow ahead of the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 as their star pacer Lockie Ferguson is doubtful for the tournament. The Kiwi pacer is racing against time to recover from a calf injury, which he sustained during ILT20 2025-26 last month in Dubai.

Playing for Desert Vipers in a clash against MI Emirates on December 21, the right-arm pacer sustained a calf injury and left the field midway. The injury also ruled him out of the remainder of the tournament.

Moreover, he was also unable to participate in the ongoing Big Bash League (BBL) 2025-26, as he was ruled out of the campaign, where he was supposed to play for Sydney Thunder.

While Ferguson was expected to play in the T20I series against India in January, he couldn’t recover in time and has been ruled out of both ODIs as well as T20Is.

New Zealand’s tour of India 2025 is all set to commence on January 11 in Vadodara with the three-match ODI series. Later, both sides will clash in five T20I games from January 21 to 28. The series will act as a key preparation for both teams for the T20 World Cup 2026, which is set to commence on February 7.

New Zealand to play their opening game of ICC T20 World Cup 2026 on February 8

New Zealand T20I team, Kane Williamson, ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 — New Zealand (Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)

T20 World Cup 2026 will be hosted by India and Sri Lanka. New Zealand are placed in Group D and will play their first game against Afghanistan on Sunday, February 8.

Notably, a few teams like India, South Africa, Afghanistan, Australia, England, and Sri Lanka have already announced their squads for the tournament.

However, with Ferguson failing to recover ahead of the T20I series against India, his participation in the T20 World Cup 2026 seems doubtful. The BlackCaps are already without pacer Will O’Rourke due to a back injury. In such a scenario, Ferguson’s ouster will be a big blow for them.

What injury is Lockie Ferguson suffering from?

Lockie Ferguson is suffering from a calf injury.

When will ICC T20 World Cup 2026 start?

The ICC T20 World Cup 2026 will start on February 7.

When will the ODI series between India and New Zealand start?

The ODI series between India and New Zealand will start on January 11.

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Vikas Singh Derek

Vikas Singh Derek is a core cricket-lover since childhood and has always followed the sport both in his personal and professional life. He started his school life by watching cricket at home with family. Later, he played cricket on the field at local clubs during college. After his Master's in Journalism from Mumbai, he followed his passion by covering cricket news across various digital media. Since 2015, he has been an aspiring sports journalist and cricket content writer with over 50K+ articles.