Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry to Miss Some T20 WC 2026 Matches: Who Will Replace Them?

The ICC T20 World Cup 2026 has taken its toll on the fans as the excitement is very high. The 20-nation tournament is all set to begin on February 7 with the final set to be played on March 8. The tournament which will be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka will be played across 8 venues.

The preparations for the T20 World Cup is on and all the teams have started naming their squads for the tournament. With deadline of the squad announcement approaching soon, New Zealand became the latest to join the bandwagon.

Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry to Miss Few T20 WC 2026 Matches

The New Zealand Cricket Team, as usual in their unique way, announced the squad for the ICC T20 World Cup 2026. Mitchell Santner will lead the team in the tournament and the squad features plenty of experienced as well as young superstars.

One thing that caught the attention of many was that New Zealand also named Matt Henry and Lockie Ferguson in the side. This comes after both the pacers faced injuries recently and reports claimed that they were doubtful for the series.

But for the T20 World Cup 2026, they have been deemed fit. However, despite that, they might miss a few games in the tournament. The reason behind that is that Henry's and Ferguson's partners are expecting babies and the duo will be given short-term paternity leave. Matt Henry replacement has not been announced by the board for those games.

There is no clarity which games they will miss, but it is sure they won’t feature in the full tournament. There is no Lockie Ferguson replacement announced by the NZC. In their place, Kyle Jamieson, who has been named in the side as reserve, might play some of the games in their absence in the tournament.

Jacob Duffy Earns Maiden Call-Up for T20 World Cup 2026

Fast bowler Jacob Duffy has also earned his maiden call-up in the New Zealand squad for T20 World Cup 2026. He has been sensational with the ball and was the leading wicket-taker in 2025 with 81 international wickets. Recently, he also became the best T20 bowler in the world.
While he has been added to NZ T20 World Cup squad, Tim Robinson, Bevon Jacobs and Zakary Foulkes have missed out. The New Zealand’s pace department features Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Adam Milne and all-rounder James Neesham.

In the spin department, Ish Sodhi will support captain Mitchell Santner. On the other hand, batting features some of the best T20 batsmen like Tim Seifert, Devon Conway, Mark Chapman, Glenn Phillips, and Rachin Ravindra.

New Zealand Squad for ICC T20 World Cup 2026

Mitchell Santner (c), Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell, Adam Milne, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Seifert (wk), Ish Sodhi

Travelling Reserve: Kyle Jamieson