New Zealand fast bowler Lockie Ferguson has been injured ahead of the tri-series and Champions Trophy in Pakistan. He suffered a muscle strain while playing in the ILT20 in UAE. Ferguson is captaining Desert Vipers in ILT20. The first qualifier was played between Dubai Capitals and Desert Vipers on Wednesday. Ferguson left the field without completing his four overs. He had only one ball remaining in both his spell and the innings, which Mohammad Amir completed. Capitals needed one run off the last ball, Sikandar Raza hit Amir for four runs to secure Dubai Capitals' place in the final. At the post-match presentation, Ferguson said, 'Just a slight hamstring issue. Wish I could have bowled that last ball.' Scan done in UAE According to New Zealand head coach Gary Stead, Ferguson underwent a scan the next day to determine the severity of the injury. New Zealand is still waiting for more information. On the eve of the first match of the triangular series, Stead confirmed that Lockie had a scan in UAE on Thursday (February 6). He said that they have the images with them and are waiting for the report from the radiologist to determine how serious it is. While Stead reckoned that it appears to be a minor muscle injury, the Kiwi coach said that they are awaiting timeline advice about this post which a decision on his participating in the Champions Trophy would be taken. Ferguson couldn't play in the eliminator The 33-year-old couldn't play in the eliminator against Sharjah Warriors in the ILT20 on Friday, after which the Desert Vipers' captaincy was handed to Sam Curran. During the toss, Curran said that Ferguson was injured but didn't reveal the severity of the problem. In ILT20, Ferguson has only played in eight out of the Vipers' 12 matches so far. Vipers' cricket director Tom Moody said in January on the Vipers Voice podcast that efforts will be made to reduce their workload with fast bowler rotation as much as possible. Lockie Ferguson, Mohammad Amir and Luke Wood all got a chance to rest and refresh. New Zealand's first match on February 19 New Zealand's first match will be against Pakistan in Karachi on February 19. New Zealand coach Stead indicated that they will also adopt a rotation system to reduce the workload of fast bowlers in the tri-series starting Saturday (February 8). The Black Caps will play an ODI match against South Africa in Lahore on February 10. All other matches of the tri-series are day-night games. Ferguson hasn't played ODI matches since the 2023 World Cup Ferguson has been included in the New Zealand team for the Champions Trophy. Ferguson had decided to opt out of New Zealand's central contract. He hasn't played any ODI match for New Zealand since the 2023 World Cup. Teams can make changes until February 11 All eight teams have announced their squads for the Champions Trophy, but they still have until February 11 to make changes if needed. Teams can make changes to their squad without ICC permission. After that, they will need ICC permission to make any changes to the team.Original Article