Kamal Ghorui
Lockie Ferguson has come out in support of his teammate Kyle Jamieson after the Delhi Capitals pacer was cautioned by the IPL for his animated send-off to teenage batter Vaibhav Sooryavanshi.The incident took place early in Rajasthan Royals’ innings during their clash against Delhi Capitals at the Sawai Mansingh Stadium. In just the second over, Jamieson delivered a pinpoint yorker to dismiss the 15-year-old prodigy for 4, underlining his control and precision.However, the celebration that followed sparked controversy. Jamieson clapped aggressively and walked towards the batter, making eye contact in a manner that was deemed confrontational. Given the age of the dismissed batter, the send-off drew criticism for being excessive.The IPL subsequently handed Jamieson a demerit point along with an official warning for breaching the Code of Conduct during Match No. 43. The New Zealand quick was found guilty of a Level 1 offence under Article 2.5, which relates to “using language, actions or gestures which disparage or could provoke an aggressive reaction from another player.” Jamieson admitted to the charge and accepted the sanction imposed by match referee Rajeev Seth.Despite the reprimand, Ferguson defended his teammate, emphasising that such displays of emotion are part of the game.“Kyle’s a good mate of mine. He got pretty fired up, which is pretty understandable. Not easy to get wickets in this part of the world, and that was a big one. So I think it’s part of the game. I think fans like to see the passion. 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’s obviously a big guy too, so when a big guy has a lot of emotions, it looks even bigger.” Lockie Ferguson told to India Today on Kyle Jamieson’s reaction.
