Why did Lockie Ferguson miss PBKS vs GT clash of IPL 2026?

Lockie Ferguson has been retained by PBKS for IPL 2026.

Punjab Kings (PBKS) are clashing with Gujarat Titans (GT) in their opening match of Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 on Tuesday, March 31. The PBKS vs GT is the 4th match of IPL 2026, which got underway at Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium in New Chandigarh.

PBKS captain Shreyas Iyer won the toss and opted to field first in the encounter. At the toss, he revealed the four overseas players picked for the match, and surprisingly pacer Lockie Ferguson was not part of the side.

The New Zealand pacer was retained by the franchise for INR 2 crore for IPL 2026. Last season, he clinched five wickets in four games before being ruled out due to a leg injury.

Why is Lockie Ferguson not playing of PBKS vs GT in IPL 2026 clash?

Notably, Ferguson is yet to join the PBKS squad in IPL 2026. He is on paternity leave due to the birth of his child. He had earlier informed that he will miss the initial games and will join the tournament mid-season. In Ferguson’s absence, PBKS has brought in Xavier Bartlett into the playing XI.

Backing his decision to bowl first against GT, Iyer said, “We’re going to bowl first. I firmly believe that chasing gives you a fair idea about how to go about the target. And also, we played a couple of practice games and whatever total was scored, I think it was easily chased down. So, thinking that at the back of my mind, I’m taking that decision”.

PBKS playing XI: Prabhsimran Singh (wk), Cooper Connolly, Shreyas Iyer (C), Nehal Wadhera, Shashank Singh, Marcus Stoinis, Marco Jansen, Xavier Bartlett, Vijaykumar Vyshak, Arshdeep Singh, Yuzvendra Chahal.

GT Playing XI: Sai Sudharsan, Shubman Gill (C), Jos Buttler (wk), Washington Sundar, Glenn Phillips, M Shahrukh Khan, Rahul Tewatia, Rashid Khan, Kagiso Rabada, Ashok Sharma, Mohammed Siraj.

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