IPL 2026: New Zealand's star pacer Lockie Ferguson will be giving the first few matches of IPL 2026 a miss owing to personal reasons. As per the latest update, Ferguson was roped in for a whopping Rs 2 crore by Punjab Kings during the IPL 2025 mega auctions and won't play the first seven matches of IPL 2026, as he will be spending time with his wife and newborn son.
“He is not available for the first seven games," an IPL official told PTI.
“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 heading to the later stages of the IPL and away for the winter," Ferguson told reporters ahead of the third T20I against South Africa.
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Even though he will miss the first few matches of the IPL for the Punjab-based franchise due to personal reasons, he won't face any sanctions like Harry Brook.
Harry Brook, England's ODI and T20I skipper, faces a two-year IPL ban after making himself unavailable last year for personal reasons, despite being bought by Delhi Capitals.
As per the tournament rules, which were revealed by the governing council ahead of the last edition, if a player enters his name at the auction and is bought by a team and then makes himself unavailable even before the season starts, he will be punished with a two-year ban.
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Ferguson entered the auction, was acquired by the Punjab Kings, and will miss seven matches. However, he is not being punished because he will still participate in part of the season, whereas sanctions apply only if a player is unavailable before the season begins.
According to reports, Ferguson's absence is considered a planned leave for personal reasons. This is distinct from an unauthorized absence or a breach of contract, which would result in punishment under IPL rules.
Apart from Ferguson, Australia's pace trio of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Josh Hazlewood will also be missing the first few matches of the upcoming season. Although Cummins and Hazlewood aren't available owing to injuries, Cricket Australia is closely monitoring Starc's workload, and these three will come to India for IPL 2026 based on their return-to-play protocols over the next few weeks.