Over the last few years, the impact player rule in the Indian Premier League (IPL) has been a point of debate.
Several prominent cricketers like Virat Kohli and Rohit Sharma have criticised the use of the impact player rule in the past, few others like former cricketers Sunil Gavaskar and Harbhajan Singh have supported the rule.
As for their opposition of the rule, both Kohli and Rohit have cited disrupting the game’s balance, giving batters an advantage and hindering the development of all-rounders as their reasons.
Lockie Ferguson on impact player rule
Punjab Kings (PBKS) pacer Lockie Ferguson is the latest to talk on the impact player rule. Unlike Virat Kohli, Sunil Gavaskar among others, the New Zealand cricketer took a neutral stance on the issue.
“It’s just a different style of cricket. I don’t think there’s any right or wrong way to do it. Um, from my point of view, you just turn up and play the rules that there are. Obviously as you play tournaments around the world, they change for various reasons,” Lockie told reporters during a virtual media round table ahead of Punjab Kings’ clash against Gujarat Titans (GT) on Sunday.
The 34-year-old said that adaptability is key as far as the impact player rule is concerned, and added that in the end, the final result is what matters the most.
“It’s just about trying to adapt I guess as quickly as possible to what you’re playing and what you’re playing in front of you. and try to have some impact on the game, to try to win the game because regardless of the score at the end of the day you’re just trying to get two points,” he added.
Lockie Ferguson on Kyle Jamieson’s antics
Lockie Ferguson also spoke on the fiery send-off that his New Zealand teammate Kyle Jamieson, playing for Delhi Capitals, gave to Rajasthan Royals opener Vaibhav Sooryavanshi. Jamieson passionately clapped back at Vaibhav and screamed at his face after the latter was cleaned up for four runs from two balls.
“Kyle’s a good mate of mine. He got pretty fired up, which is pretty understandable. Um, not easy to get wickets in this part of the world and uh, that was a big one, so. I think it’s part of the game, as you said. I think fans like to see the passion,” he said.
“So I can’t comment on anything from a governing body point of view, but as a player, I think the passion coming out is great for the game. As a fan of the game, you like to see players getting passionate, players showing emotion, players being excited to take a wicket,” he added.
Punjab Kings are currently in first place in the IPL 2026 standings with 13 points from eight matches. They have lost just one match, having won six and one match being washed out due to rain.
