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Lockie Ferguson has been officially ruled out of the upcoming Champions Trophy 2025. The 33-year-old fast bowler injured his hamstring during the International League T20 (ILT20) earlier this month.
He was leading the Desert Vipers who reached the final of the 2025 season of the UAE-based T20 competition. Ferguson was in top form, returning with 11 wickets from eight games in the ILT20 with an economy rate of 7.18. He last featured in an ODI back in the 2023 World Cup but his form in T20 cricket has been excellent. He took 20 wickets in 10 T20Is in 2024.
While Ferguson picked up the injury in early February, New Zealand wanted to be patient and see if he can regain full fitness ahead of the eight-team event. However, the Auckland-born fast bowler bowled three overs in the warm-up game against Afghanistan on the 16th of February (Sunday) before he was eventually ruled out.
Ferguson was the second-most experienced pacer behind Matt Henry in New Zealand’s squad. His absence leaves a significant hole, considering his impact in the two World Cups he’s played. He took 21 wickets in nine games in the 2019 World Cup before taking 10 scalps in seven matches in the 2023 World Cup.
Kyle Jamieson has been named as his replacement. The 30-year-old tall fast bowler’s last international appearance came a year ago in a Test match against South Africa. His recent past has been ridden with injuries.
He was out of action for nearly 10 months due to a back injury. His last ODI appearance came back in September 2023. Overall, he has featured in 13 ODIs and has taken 14 wickets at an economy of 5.07.
Jamieson has been in good form in the last few months. He was highly impressive in the Super Smash T20 (New Zealand’s domestic T20 competition) where he returned with 14 wickets from 12 outings with an economy rate of 5.95. He even played a couple of domestic 50-over games post that.
A week ago, Ben Sears was ruled out of the tournament due to a hamstring injury. New Zealand replaced him with Jacob Duffy. With the exception of Henry, New Zealand’s pace attack have each played less than 15 ODIs. Hence, they have a big challenge ahead of them.
Rachin Ravindra likely to be fit for Champions Trophy opener
Rachin Ravindra is expected to recover completely from the head injury he suffered in the first game of the recent tri-series against Pakistan. The 25-year-old left-hander was hit on his forehead while fielding at deep mid-wicket after he failed to sight the ball hit towards him.
While New Zealand are being cautious and don’t want to rush him back, Ravindra looks ready to go. He was seen in the nets on the eve of New Zealand’s opening game of the Champions Trophy in Karachi.
Tom Latham revealed that the team management will take a final call after the final practice session on Tuesday (February 18th). They want to ensure that everything is fine with Ravindra and he undergoes all necessary protocols.
“Rachin [Ravindra] will train tonight and we’ll get a bit more of an indication of how he’s going. His recovery’s going good, but just need to make sure since it was a pretty nasty injury. When it’s a head injury you just need to make sure things are all right, so just going through the protocols he needs to go through and we’ll wait and see,” Tom Latham was quoted saying on the eve of the Champions Trophy opener.
