Former Indian all-rounder Irfan Pathan has revealed that the absence of Lockie Ferguson for the start of IPL 2026 will be a challenge for Punjab Kings. The New Zealand fast bowler is set to miss the initial phase of the tournament as he wants to be with his newborn baby.
Ferguson had played only four matches in IPL 2025, in which he scalped five wickets. The right-arm fast bowler recently scalped six wickets in seven T20 World Cup 2026 innings.
Pathan said Ferguson is a hit-the-deck bowler and he can breathe down the neck of the opposition batters with his extra pace. Ferguson has scalped 51 wickets in 49 IPL matches at an average of 30 and economy rate of 8.97.
Irfan Pathan said on his YouTube Channel, “The important thing is that Ferguson, who is not available at the start, plays a key role because he is a ‘hit-the-deck’ fast bowler. That role is probably something no one else can fully take on. You have Azmatullah Omarzai, you have Marco Jansen, you have Arshdeep Singh, and you have Vijaykumar Vyshak. But the high pace that Ferguson brings, and the role he plays in this team, will be missing. So how the team manages at the start will also be a challenge for Punjab.”
Pathan said PBKS captain Shreyas Iyer should give a challenging role to Marco Jansen. The lanky pacer recently scalped 11 wickets in six T20 World Cup matches for the Proteas.
He added, “I think Shreyas should give a very challenging role, especially to Marco Jansen, because I feel we are now seeing an upgraded version of Marco in international cricket. It will be interesting to see how he is utilized.”
The 2007 T20 World Cup final hero said Arshdeep Singh needs to focus on how he bowls with the new ball in the Powerplay overs. Singh had bagged 21 wickets in 17 matches of IPL 2025.
“Arshdeep’s bowling, who was your highest wicket-taker, has been consistently taking wickets. One thing he will definitely need to focus on is how he bowls with the new ball. Because over the past year, or slightly less than a year, from what I have observed, he hasn’t been bowling much inswing with the new ball. So, his statistics, compared to before and after the Asia Cup, have slightly declined in terms of new-ball bowling. He will need to pay attention to that, and also keep an eye on his economy rate.”
Punjab Kings will begin their IPL 2026 campaign against the Gujarat Titans at Mullanpur on 31st March.
