On Friday, January 2, it was announced that New Zealand fast bowler Lockie Ferguson was ruled out of the ongoing edition of the Big Bash League due to injury. The right-arm seamer, who has a history of injuries, will miss cricketing action in the first month of the new year with a calf injury.
The New Zealand cricket board has not revealed the extent of the injury or Ferguson’s expected recovery date, but the Kiwis sweat in panic as the ICC T20 World Cup 2026 is just 40 days away and the Blackcaps wouldn't want to travel to India and Sri Lanka without their 150 kmph+ speedster.
Besides New Zealand, the Punjab Kings are also panicking because the IPL 2025 runners-up retained Ferguson despite his injury woes. Lockie had also missed half of IPL 2025, and the Kings fear the same for the upcoming edition. Therefore, this article will shed light on three potential replacements for the 34-year-old if he misses IPL 2026.
Lockie Ferguson's potential replacements in Punjab Kings 1. Jhye Richardson Jhye Richardson has been dealing with injuries for a long time and recently returned to the Australian side after a long absence. The left-arm seamer recently proved his mettle by picking up two wickets in the Boxing Day Test.
Further, Ricky Ponting, who is the Punjab Kings’ head coach, has a knack for going after Aussie seamers. Therefore, it enhances Richardson’s chances of being picked up as a replacement.
Interestingly,Richardson has played for Punjab Kings in the past and featured for the Preity Zinta-owned side in 2021.
His last appearance was for the Delhi Capitals. However, he got to feature in just a solitary game and went wicketless. Nonetheless, Richardson can be a great option for PBKS.
Let's look at Richardson's recent performances
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2. Simarjeet Singh Punjab Kings can also go for an Indian option as a replacement. PBKS have Marco Jansen, Azmatullah Omerzai, Xavier Bartlett, Ben Dwarshius, and Mitchell Owen as overseas seamers. Therefore, Simarjeet Singh can be a great option.
The 27-year-old, who previously represented Chennai Super Kings in the IPL, is also in fine form. Thus, not getting any interest during the IPL 2026 mini-auction is quite shocking. Talking about Simarjeet’s recent performances, the right-arm seamer has taken six wickets in three innings in the ongoing Vijay Hazare Trophy 2025.
Simarjeet picked up 3 wickets in three innings in SMAT 2025 and a nice 12-wicket Ranji Trophy edition as well.
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3. Riley Meredith Out of the eight overseas quota, Punjab Kings have five Australian cricketers, which is 62.5% of their overseas slot. Therefore, it is very likely that the Kings go for another Aussie as Ferguson’s replacement.
Riley Meredith is a great option as the 29-year-old bowls at a good speed, and his height allows him to hit the deck, which can be a great asset at the Mullanpur Stadium, the new home of the Punjab Kings.
Talking about Meredith’s recent performances, the 29-year-old is playing for Hobart Hurricanes and has four wickets in six innings.
Meredith’s stand-out performance was in the Sheffield Shield 2025-26 , where he picked up 17 wickets in six innings. Since franchises have limited options to chose from, Meredith can be a great replacement.
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Lockie Ferguson for Punjab Kings - (Source: AFP).jpg)
