New Delhi: Veteran India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin has backed the ‘Impact Player’ rule in the Indian Premier League as it has made the matches more interesting, adding value for strategy for the participating teams.
The ‘Impact Player’ rule in the IPL has divided opinions with influental players like India skipper Rohit Sharma and star batter Virat Kohli not in favour of it as they think it is counterproductive for the development of home-grown all-rounders.
They also feel the rule tilts the balance between bat and ball and thus changes the outcome of contests. But Ashwin said the rule makes the game a lot more even.
“Why I think the Impact Player rule is not so bad is because it gives a little more value for strategy,” Ashwin was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo in Tamil on Krishnamachari Srikkanth’s YouTube show.
“The other side of that argument is it doesn’t encourage all-rounders. But no one is stopping them. In this generation, they don’t do it (batters bowling and vice-versa).
“It’s not like they’re discouraged because of the Impact Player rule. Look at Venkatesh Iyer, he’s currently rocking for Lancashire. There’s an opportunity for innovation and it makes the game fairer,” the off-spinner added.
Impact rule introuced in IPL in 2013
The rule was introduced in the IPL by BCCI in 2023, allowing teams to substitute a player as per their requirment during a match.
Ashwin cited the IPL 2024 Qualifier 2 match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Rajasthan Royals to put forward his point of view. In that match, Hyderabad replaced opener Travis Head with spinner Shahbaz Ahmed, who claimed three wickets including Ashwin’s to become the player of the match.
“Sunrisers brought in Shahbaz Ahmed as an Impact Player (after hitting 175 for 9 batting first). He went on to become a match-winner,” he pointed out, adding that the rule can make an impact in matches where dew becomes a factor.
“When dew has the potential to make games one-sided, teams bowling second get an extra option as a counter. If you’re batting second, you can tactically make a substitution by off-loading the extra bowler for a batter,” he noted.
“Games are tighter, an extra player is getting to play. Barring Kolkata or Mumbai, where scores skyrocketed, they haven’t been a drastic change elsewhere. Like at Punjab Kings’ home venue (Mullanpur), they were all 160-170 games.”
The rule has helped several players get into the national team, with Shivam Dube helping India win the T20 World Cup in June.
“Shahbaz Ahmed, Shivam Dube most importantly, Dhruv Jurel… If not for the Impact Player rule, he may have never gotten the chance. So the emergence of a lot of players has happened. I’m not saying that’s the only way for players to emerge, but it’s not so bad,” he said.
India spinner R Ashwin said the ‘Impact Player’ rule in IPL makes contests a lot more even. Cricket Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
