Lockie Ferguson Hoping For IPL To Take Place This Year; Says He Is Working Towards It

The Indian Premier League (IPL) is one of the events, which cricketers and fans have dearly missed this year. The COVID-19 pandemic forced the lucrative tournament to get postponed twice while it remains unclear as to when the competition would take place. New Zealand speedster Lockie Ferguson can’t wait to get back to training and is looking forward to plying his trade in the IPL if it happens later this year.

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BCCI is aiming to host the thirteenth season of the IPL in October-November, considering how the magnitude of the virus outbreak in India remains. The potential postponement of the T20 World Cup during that time has opened up this probability. The initial starting date was of the 29th of March, which was pushed to the 15th of April before deferring it indefinitely.

As part of good news, Lockie Ferguson believes that things are getting back to normal in their nation due to which they would start bowling from the next month or so. The 28-year old is willing for the IPL to take place around September and is preparing towards the same. He will turn out for Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR), captained by Dinesh Karthik.

“Fortunately, here in New Zealand we’re settling back to normal — doing our strength and conditioning. We’ll be doing it for the next month or so and then I’ll slowly start to get back to bowling, and hopefully, come September, there might be cricket, with rumours floating there might be an IPL. I’m working towards that and very much looking forward to the training.” Ferguson said as quoted by ESPN Cricinfo.

We were unsure whether we might play or not: Lockie Ferguson

Lockie Ferguson, who was amongst the 22 men that last played international cricket in March, was unsure whether the match would take place or not. Ferguson admits that without the spectators, that whacked plenty of energy out of an exciting series and that playing in front of crowds is a spectacular experience. At the same time, he acknowledges the importance of health, and one should take all the necessary precautions.

The game between Australia and New Zealand in March at the Sydney Cricket Ground was played behind closed doors. During Australia’s batting, an instance occurred when Ferguson had to fetch the ball himself from the stands as it went for a six.

“It took a lot of energy out of the series, obviously, and a lot of other sporting events were being closed down too. Playing the game was certainly interesting. I know there are a couple of memes going around of me fetching the ball from the empty stands,” Ferguson stated.

“You can’t put it into words, how much fun it is (playing in front of crowds). Just as the fans love it, the players love it as well — the energy. Obviously, health is priority now and we should all do the right thing.” the Auckland-born quick bowler added.

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